Blue Collar Christianity

"How Did it Go?"

2012-01-29T15:59:00.000-08:00

Without fail, every time I speak, people will ask me how it went. Also without fail, I never quite know how to respond.

Here is what I can say with certainty – I had my socks blessed off last night. I mean, right off! No socks. Thanks to many of my friends, last evening was the official launch for my second book entitled Alien Love. I would love to tell you that Alien Love is sweeping the nation, but to be completely forthcoming, interest in this one doesn’t seem to be as great as it was in my first work.

However, it really isn’t all about the book. I can only hope that the people there were as blessed as I was. I wish I could give you a picture of the evening as a whole, but all I can really offer is my own vantage point. As far as the message, I am confident I said the very things that I needed to say. Any more would have been overkill. Any less would have been negligent.

I FINALLY had the privilege of meeting some of the amazing people who serve on the music team at my church from St. Thomas. Which is rather ironic when I stand back to think of it. I had to go to Aylmer to meet people from my church. Weird. I hope they enjoyed their interaction with me as much as I did.

I walked away with a new CD from a young lady named Kayla Peters. Listening to her CD on the way to church this morning, I found myself wondering, “Would I have liked this CD if I had heard it when I was a teenager?”

If I could find her music online, I’d send you a link. Her style reminded me of the kind of music I listened to when I was beginning to grow facial hair, but the message is quite different. I was an earthling when I was in high school, so my taste reflected my citizenship. I guess Kayla isn’t the first female Canadian musician that I’ve enjoyed listening to. Lee Aaron would likely be the first.

During my message last evening, I made the statement saying, “This world is often really weird.” If you listened to Lee Aaron’s song, just think about it. We glorify acting like animals. Is that not bizarre? I suppose I find it strange now, but back in the day, I really couldn’t see it.

I am so encouraged to see another generation rising up to take their stand as followers of Christ. I want to name names, but I’ll forget someone and then I’ll feel really bad about it.

I believe that the evening was recorded. If I can get the recording, I’ll make it available here and likely on my Facebook page.

I am very thankful to everyone who came last evening and to everyone who played a part. Once again, I find myself deeper in your debt. If I never find a way to repay you, could you forgive me the indiscretion?

Alien Love - Coming Jan 28, 2012

2012-01-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

Praise God! My second published book entitled, Alien Love has finally landed for good. Thanks to my friends at Aylmer’s EMMC, the official launch will be held this Saturday, January 28th at Aylmer’s Old Town Hall at 6:30pm.

Just in case you are considering attending, I want to give you a little heads up as far as what you can expect to hear from me.

Sin

I don’t know why, but whenever I speak, I always talk about sin. Don’t hate me for it. Talk to The Once who lives in me and compels me in His service. But yeah. I’ll probably talk about sin. So if you have any sins that you really want to hold on to and want to make sure that I don’t deal with your particular brand of depravity, let me know. Of course, if you’re drawn to me, you probably wouldn’t be that forthcoming. Would you?

I mean, if you really want someone to help you to feel good about your dirt, there are any number of people in the world who could help you with that. If that describes you, might I recommend Lady Gaga, 50 Cent, Nickelback or Katy Perry?

I’m not trying to scare you off, but I don’t want you to come and be all surprised or anything.

Jesus

Maybe the sin stuff might be the part that catches our attention, either for good or for bad. However, it’s really all about Christ. It’s supposed to be His show. I didn’t write my book to make a name for myself or to supplement my income. I do what I do because I believe that Jesus is the Christ; the only true hope for humanity.

No. I didn’t say that Christianity is the hope. I didn’t say that the church is the hope. I said I believe firmly that Jesus is the answer to our greatest need. He gave His life up for me and it would be remiss of me were I not to acknowledge Him as He is.

It’s Not All About Me

Sure, this is my blog and my personal space, but the evening really isn’t all about me. Local musician Kayla Peters will also be there promoting her first CD. From what I can tell by following her on Facebook, she loves Jesus too. She will be leading us in song along with a few other gifted musicians from the Aylmer area.

Beyond that, it isn’t even about Kayla and I. The evening itself is really part of the EMMC’s regular Saturday evening worship services. They have been so kind to Kayla and myself that it would be wonderful if you would consider blessing them with your presence. If you’re looking for a church that loves the Lord and preaches the Word of God, I’d encourage you to check them out.

Whether you come or not, whether you buy a book or a CD, I pray that you know Christ personally. If you don’t, I hope you’ll consider Him as He is, for who He is.

In Christ;

Love Kevin

What's Up With Tim Tebow?

2012-01-15T12:33:00.000-08:00

In itself, saying that you’re a Christian doesn’t actually mean very much. It’s become a title which people seem to carry, whether or not they actually have any affinity for Christ Himself. Many people who merely believe in “God” classify themselves as being Christians. Even within the realm of authentic faith, carrying the name itself gives us little indication as to the substance of the person. Personally, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. If they tell me that they are a Christian, then I call them a Christian.

Whenever I hear someone say that they are a believer, I wonder what kind of Christian they are. Some believers are deathly serious about sin, at least on the outside; making every attempt to find and uproot it from their lives. Other Christians are rather cavalier with regards to sin. Even if it is clearly printed on the page, they chalk it up as the page having been written for another time.

Some believers are serious about evangelism. Whether they follow in The Way of The Master (TM) or whether they try to reach people via relationships, they are actively and literally trying to advocate Christ. Many Christians have little compulsion to advocate Christ Himself. They might be comfortable advocating a cause such as poverty or world hunger. They might be vocal against certain ills, such as bullying, human trafficking, abortion or gay sex. They do not however literally try to tell people about Jesus.

For many Christians, Jesus is kind of like the boyfriend that you’re too embarrassed to introduce to your friends. It feels good to have a boyfriend, but He’s not much to look at. For others, Jesus is literally the light of their life.

I give you that introduction in order to set the stage. If you’re alive and well in North America, you might have heard of Tim Tebow. He is a Christian football player. For some reason, there is a kind of hype surrounding him that I haven’t sensed in any other sports figure in my lifetime. Lately, I’ve been asking my friends and coworkers this question: “What’s so special about Tebow?” I mean, he isn’t the world’s first Christian football player.

The Kind of Christian

I have received different responses, including his unorthodox style, his luck, the way he leads and the way he lives out his faith. I have no love of the game at all, so feel free to write me off. In my opinion however, Tim is set apart, not because of his faith or his skill. He stands out because of the kind of Christian he is.

Christians having a place in professional sports is nothing new. However, they are rarely the kind of Christian that Tim Tebow represents. Of the other Christians in professional sports come to mind, they are the sort that keep more to themselves. Of them, it tends to be said, ‘You can see it more in their lifestyle, or they way they conduct themselves.’ They often contribute to or advocate admirable causes. Some might even have Bible studies in their homes or do their best to witness one on one.

For varying reasons, he embodies a vein of Christianity which we see little of in this kind of arena. It’s not unusual for people who think like him to view professional competitive sports as being rather worldly. In fact, professional sports lend themselves easily to some forms of blatant idolatry, which tends to be frowned upon in conservative Christianity. The amount of training required to compete at this level tends to take the kind of time, devotion and focus that many who share his heart, would feel were better spent towards more spiritual matters.

Tebow challenges his own kind of people, showing them that one can be deathly serious about his calling, while at the same time, putting in the blood and sweat necessary to play with the best of the best, and perhaps someday to be counted as the best.

Climate Change

Had he lived in another time, he might not have attracted the same amount of press and attention he garners today. The culture of our time has changed drastically, even in the past 20 years. The message of the good news of Jesus is becoming increasingly offensive. We can tolerate many things, but we are becoming less and less tolerant of anyone who tells us that we sin. The substance of the man is therefore much more alarming to the general public than he would have been say 30 years ago.

When I was a kid, my school teacher told me that most of the Dallas Cowboys were Christians. Due to the climate in which we live, I’m kind of surprised that the Bronco’s even gave him the chance to begin with. They must not have a decent number two. Seriously. Most of you who read this profess to live out some form of faith in Christ. How many of us really appreciate being told we sin? How much less the world in general?

Personally

I don’t much care if he wins football games. I’m pretty sure that God loves people on the teams Tim plays against as much as He cares for him. Or maybe God only loves people who wear blue jerseys. Who knows? I do hope however that he is able to keep a clean witness for his Lord and that he will have a successful career. As tolerant as our culture claims to be, they love to watch people like Tim Tebow fall. If he ever does the kinds of things that our world says are acceptable, you can bet the bank his face will be plastered across every newspaper and internet news feed across the country. And we’re the hypocrites.

...And Tim - If you’re reading this my brother, better luck next year. (Not that either of us really believe in luck)

Kevin Abell

Strength in Hiding

2012-01-14T14:28:00.000-08:00

For those of you who follow here on Blue Collar Christianity, you probably notice that I don't review books or talk about the latest christian celebrity gossip. Today however, I am pleased to make an exception. Here is my 13 year old daughter's take on The Hiding Place. If you enjoy, let me know. Perhaps we will put her on staff....

Strength in Hiding

Everyone needs something to keep them going. Some choose people, some choose money, and some choose things, whatever seems to work. Although these may help for awhile, many end up wanting more and more, which obviously means they need something else. Also, money, clothes, or people can’t help all the time. Does money help a help a person when he is in trouble for something he did not do? Or what if a child is deadly sick; could her dad help her then? Corrie, in The Hiding Place, portrays that God is the only security that won’t let you down. He gave Corrie strength through all her hardships and stressful times. She felt His presence when she helped others, in the times of prison and camps, and even when friends and family passed away. No matter what, He was and is there. He will take you in when you are down or need help getting up again; He is your hiding place.

Ever since the first Jew came through the door asking for help, the Boom family devoted their lives to helping people who needed it. Corrie ten Boom and her family felt God urging them to do something about the cruelty swirling around them. “My job was simply to follow His leading one step at a time,” (Boom, 81) stated Corrie. God helped Corrie move Jews to safety, assist the Underground, and obey His commands. One day, the Gestapo burst into the Boom’s watch shop. They searched the house, looking for the Jews they knew were there. Commanding Corrie to tell them, they beat her and her family. Although Corrie knew what the consequences could be, she did not give in. God gave Corrie strength to help others, even through the pain and hurt.

Because of her family’s resistance, Corrie and her family were sent into prison. Corrie was ill with influenza, and her cell mates were not much help. Because of her illness, she was moved to another cell, but this cell had nobody to keep her company. Boredom, loneliness, and heartache for loved ones filled her heart during the long days of prison. If it were not for God and the gospels, she may not have had the strength to go on. She was next sent to two concentration camps. Roll call was painful, work hours long, and fleas and lice roamed the camp; but even through this, she and her sister shared the gospel with countless people, and what used to be people full of cursing turned into people full of love. Corrie commented on the change in The Hiding Place, “ Where before this had been the moment for scuffles and cursing, tonight the huge dormitory buzzed with ‘Sorry!’, ‘Excuse me!’ ,and ‘No harm done!’” (Boom, 187). Even though life was tiresome for her, she still changed lives around her. Through all this, Corrie stood strong with God, and He did not let her fall.

In addition to her struggle to stay alive, Corrie had to cope with the pain of losing loved ones. Her first sorrow awaited her in prison. She received a letter notifying her of her father’s death. Although tearful, she realized that he did not have to go through any more sickness, pain, or loneliness like she did. Later, Betsie, terribly sick, died in the camp hospital. Corrie looked at where Betsie lay, and saw the most beautiful Betsie she had ever seen. Seeing the peaceful expression on Betsie’s face, she knew she did not need to be sorrowful at all. “There lay Betsie, her eyes closed as if in sleep, her face full and young. The care lines, the grief lines, the deep hollows of hunger and disease were simply gone. In front of me was the Betsie of Haarlem, happy and at peace. Stronger! Freer! This was the Betsie of heaven.” (Boom, 198) Even after Corrie was released, she learned of others who had passed away. Thankfully, she had Christ, and He helped her through the pain. If Corrie did not have Jesus in her life, she may not have made it through all the grief around her. Because she held on to Him through her troubles and griefs, she survived all the trials she faced.
As seen through Corrie’s story, her real strength was Jesus. If it were not for Him, she likely would have lost all hope. Not only did God give her strength, He spoke through Corrie to others around her. Because of Jesus living in her, many of her roommates, friends, and even a Lieutenant turned to Christ. Years after Corrie had been released from camp, she discovered she was not supposed to be released at all. The records proved there was a mistake, and that she should have been sent to the gas chambers. If God had not protected Corrie from death, we would not hear of her story today. Let this story prove to you that Jesus is our Hiding Place.

I Don't Like My Ring

2012-01-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

This Morning On Dave And Rachel

I woke up this morning to the sound of our alarm clock radio. One of the listeners in the area had sent in a relationship question which has stayed with me for the duration of the day.

A young man has recently asked his girlfriend to marry him. As wonderful news as it is, there’s a problem with the proposal. The lady in question really doesn’t like her ring; to the point where she doesn’t even really want to wear it in public.

That’s about all of the information we’re given on the radio broadcast. Callers were invited to lend their opinions, but I really don’t believe we know enough about the situation to really comment. I found myself asking this question, “What is the heart dynamic?” What is really happening here?

When the Best Isn’t Good Enough

What if this was the best this man had to offer? We don’t know for sure, but what if? Suppose that this man saved all he could, searched and searched and found something he thought would look great on the hand of his special girl. He might have been a little shortsighted for not having asked for her input, but what if he really gave it his best effort?

Have you ever found yourself trying to please someone who can’t be pleased? It’s a horrible life to live. It happens for both genders, but the particulars tend to look differently. You hear stories about wives who work all day, cook supper at night, help the kids with the homework, pack tomorrow’s lunches, keep the house in order and do the laundry, but it’s just never good enough. That isn’t the kind of life I wish on anyone.

This young man has certainly failed to meet her expectations. This won’t be a news flash for anyone who is married, but if they join hands, this will only be the beginning to many failed expectations. What are the odds that she will respond differently next time?

What if He’s Insensitive?

What if he just didn’t care? It happens. People can be insensitive. We often make decisions for other people, really not taking into consideration how it will affect them. Have you ever known a wife who said, “He just doesn’t listen to me!”?

Perhaps the ring was on sale, he really didn’t put much thought into it, but figured it’d do the trick. If that is demonstrative of this man’s way of approaching life, what promise would it hold for their future?

The Worst Case Scenario

What I fear the most, is that it could be some combination of the two. As couples, we often bring our baggage into marriage. What if he tends to be a thoughtless young man, whose best will never be good enough for her? Could this kind of tale possibly live happily ever after?

I might sound like I’m beating up on this young couple, but I’m not. I hope the best for them. I really do.

Do or Die

2012-01-09T15:19:00.001-08:00

I came into work this morning to find a sample of Consumer Report Canada. Maybe you’ve read and enjoyed some of their publications. Throughout the sampler, they give us many “Do’s and Don’ts”.

“Do: Get a top rated coffee-maker.

Don’t: Overpay $100 for a smart phone.”

All of the advice is apparently given by experts in their respective field. From my perspective, I found some of their automotive advice to be quite debatable, so I’m not sure why they paint it as if it’s a simple DO or DON”T. I’d speak on what I see as being questionable advice, but some of you might think that I’m the evil mechanic who is trying to steal your money.

Life is rarely black and white. If you send your kid to public school, he won’t necessarily turn out to be an effective evangelist. If you home school Johnny, he might not turn out to be the next Tim Tebow. Following the manufacturers recommended service interval isn’t always the surest way to prevent unwanted repairs. They seldom care what happens to your car after the warranty runs out. Here is my Consumer Report Do, and you probably won’t find it in their publications.

Do: Accept the consequences for your own choices.

Have a good night. Remember folks! – Sin is bad.

Guess What I've Got!

2012-01-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

There are many parts of scripture that I really don’t get. Sometimes I understand something intellectually, but really don’t grasp it in my heart. If you are the kind of person who likes my writing, you likely find yourself in a similar spot on occasion. If you are the kind who likes to think that he has his theology down to a properly constructed system, I guess you are much smarter than me.

Here is a passage that is becoming clearer to me in many ways.

“Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honoured them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them.” James 1:9-10

Not only is the message of it counter cultural, it can be difficult to see how being rich can be in itself a humbling situation. Much of our thinking tends to lean the other way. If we get right with God, our lives should get easier. James is good enough to explain that our achievements fade away in the same way that the grass withers, and most all of us understand that.

It’s important to keep in mind that James is talking about believers. I don’t believe that the same principles apply to nonbelievers. Why on earth would a prosperous nonbeliever be humbled? James doesn’t say, ‘People who are poor have something to boast about’. He says, ‘Believers who are poor…”.

“Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honoured them.”

I had the privilege of knowing a man who was out of work for about two years. I tried to help him from time to time, but it wasn’t enough to be his personal Jesus. During those two years, one could not help notice how God brought him and his family through, how they grew in gratitude for each other, their trust in Christ and their thankfulness for many things we take for granted.

“And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them.”

Although I have never been accused of being rich, I have never seriously wanted for much either. This past Christmas season, there was an encounter that highlighted the truth found here in James. A friend of ours came over for a visit and we were having a great evening together. We talked about many things. After sharing dessert and a great conversation, the topic eventually turned to entertainment.

My oldest son told our friend saying, “Dad has so many video games.”

“Hey dad! Why don’t you take her upstairs and show her all of your games and systems?”

The kind of humiliation I experienced that evening isn’t the same as being caught in some grave offense, but I was humbled none the less. I was kind of embarrassed by my collection.

Likewise, I know a fellow believer who went to Bermuda a few years ago, but didn’t want many people knowing, out of a similar sense of humility.

I understand how this might sound weird to you. You may be thinking, “Why wouldn’t he want to show his friend his video collection?” According to the world, having a great video game library or taking a trip to Bermuda is something to post on Facebook or Twitter. As believers, our possessions and achievements aren’t things to be proud of or boast about. These are fading away, from our grasp as well as our memory.

Have you ever been humbled similarly? If you meet someone living on the street, would you be pleased as punch to show them your shiny new phone? If you’re proud of your possessions or accomplishments, I guess this doesn’t make much sense.

Who Is Your Enemy?

2012-01-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

If you can overlook the fact that they advocate violence, widespread bloodshed and conjuring up the demons of your soul (which I am completely against), Green Day asks a very good question. Do you know your enemy?

Suppose that you are an unfaithful husband. If I called you an adulterer, how would you feel about that? What if you lie? How do you respond when people call you a liar? What is our gut response when we’re challenged about our sex life? How do we respond when people around us oppose our choices?

We rarely respond well to criticism, even if it is warranted.

Do you know your enemy?

I’ll be speaking on that on Jan 28th, either at Aylmer’s Old Town Hall or the AEMMC. When the location is confirmed, I’ll let you know.

If you want my opinion on Green Day’s song, I think they’re hypocrites. I really don’t believe they would like it if the violence they advocate were done against them. Perhaps I’ve misjudged them. Maybe they like being slaughtered.

I don’t think they know who their enemy is. Maybe they’ll come on Jan 28th to find out.

I'm Very Sorry. (It's Christmas)

2011-12-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

It’s not that I advocate Christmas. In fact, Christmas is one of the reasons why I can’t see myself in pastoral ministry. I just can’t bring myself to find some hidden nugget in the Christmas story each year that nobody else has noticed. Once I’ve said that I think Santa is the devil and that the Christmas tree’s roots grow down more into paganism than the Babe in the manger, I’ve really said all I feel I need to say. If a pastor can’t pack the place on Christmas, what good is he? And once you’ve seen my tree and watched us kneel before it on Christmas morn, you’ll write me off as a hypocrite anyhow.

However, I’m noticing more and more, that there’s something special about Christmas. The issues surrounding it have a unique flavour. Many people dislike the holiday because they find themselves alone, or it highlights the breakdown of their relationships. There is a peculiar injustice at work when someone is laid off at Christmas time, or their home burns down. Some people don’t like the Christmas tree in public places because it makes them fell as if they aren’t included.

Please think about those scenarios for a moment. Does anyone ever complain that Halloween decorations make them feel like they’re not included? If someone is laid off before May two-four, do you ever hear, “Wow. How horrible. Laid off. Right before may two four.”?

As pagan and as commercial as it is, there is just enough Jesus in the holiday to offend people of other faiths. The very elements of Christmas that seem to bring pain to many people, are in fact a demonstration of the light given to all people. For those who find themselves alone or estranged from their loved ones, Christmas isn’t the problem. The broken relationships and the loneliness are the problem. The light of Christmas merely illuminates the pain, but that’s what light does.

If you don’t like Christmas, please know that I’m with you. I really am. I’d be glad to celebrate the birth of my Saviour on some other day. I’m really not set on Dec 25th and I don’t even need it to be a stat holiday. Pagans often express bitterness about us claiming the day anyway, so let them have it. Tell next year’s Christmas Planning Committee (CPC) to come up with another day.

Most objections to Christmas stem from the fact that light does in fact reveal darkness for what it is. That is the heart of the Christmas story;

“The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Matthew 4:16

If we’re alone, if we don’t feel included in the holiday, or if tragedy has affected our lives, it isn’t Christmas’ fault. If this is your first Christmas without a loved one, my heart goes out to you. The fact that these emotions are heightened at this time, lends evidence to the case that there really is something special about Christmas. It’s Jesus.

What do you do with the light of Christmas? Do you hate the light? Or are you drawn to Him?

What I Learned From Myself

2011-12-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

On several occasions, I’ve heard believers in my life share something such as this: “A preacher really can’t speak on something he hasn’t experienced himself”.

I often think about that principle. There might be a morsel of truth in there somewhere, but I can’t completely get behind it. What do you think of that? If I’ve never stolen anything or had anything taken from me, does that mean I can’t speak against thievery? Are we limited in our speech to only things that we have had personal experience with?

I suppose there is an authority we lack whenever we address something that hasn’t touched our lives, but I believe we do ourselves a disservice if we limit ourselves to our own experience.

I’ve spent so many tiresome hours reading through Alien Love. Even though I am the author, there are elements of the work under which I fall completely short. Last night as I read it, for what I hope will be the last time, I came across this question:

“Why bother, if nothing awaits us here on earth other than prison, chains and death?”

The question I was addressing in this specific chapter was, ‘Why bother serving, if we don’t accomplish the goals we set out to do?’ Why not give up when the going proves to be intolerable?’ I’m obviously thicker than most of you. I wrote these words about three years ago, and they finally hit me last night.

You see. I’ve been rather down lately. I’ve been editing Alien Love for like three years and I’m tired. Every time I think I’m done, it becomes apparent that I need to go one more round. Here is how I answered the question three years ago.

“What about the man or the woman serving on your right or your left? What if they needed to see in you, the same kind of perseverance that they needed for themselves in order to accomplish their work in Christ? Would that be worth it? What if, by chance, you needed to take your post in the church, if for no other reason than to hold up that person on your right or your left? What if God never intended you to have followers of your own? (As if that was ever how it was supposed to work.) Even the soldiers of our earthly nations serve out of obligation for their fellow soldiers. How much more should we?”

As I read that paragraph, it became plain. It took three years, but finally, the attitude of the preacher fell in line with his message. Was it a mistake to have written them, since I had yet to believe the message itself? Even though I hadn’t truly experienced the truth of these words in 2008, I needed them last night.

I realized part of the purpose in what I’m doing, even if my works themselves come to fail. The man on my right and the woman on my left, need me to hold my ground, in the same way that I need them to hold theirs.

So my question for you this evening is as follows:

“Who are the people on your right and on your left? Who are the ones who need you to assume your role in the body of Christ? Are you being faithful in that role, regardless of how tiresome it may be?”

Night!

Kevin

PS By the way. I tend to forget a lot of the lessons I learn. Don't be surprised if I forget this one.

Following Your Heart IS The Problem With The World

2011-12-13T11:59:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I wonder if you notice that I seldom rally around many causes. Depending on how you interact with the world around you, you probably have different voices vying for your attention.

A week ago, as I walked out of Canadian Tire, I was assaulted by someone and their personal cause. They didn’t ask me if I wanted a ribbon to put on my car, or even if I agreed with them. They just shoved the thing at me and told me to tie it around my car’s antenna. As a Gideon, if I did that sort of thing with a New Testament, I’d probably end up in the news.

In the Facebook world, there is an endless array of causes with which to add our voices. Most of them are wonderful. They really are. In Christian circles, abortion is a really big one. I’d probably lose my card carrying Christian status if I wasn’t pro life. (And I am for life)

You may at times hear people make statements such as this: “The problem with the world is ________ .” (feel free to insert your own answer.)

For you, maybe it’s the sex trade. Maybe drunk drivers are the problem with the world. Violence against women is pretty bad. Oh. And animals. Cruelty to animals is horrid. Serious.

The way I understand it, the problem with the world isn’t the rapists, bullies, child molesters, murderers, Stephen Harper or the CBC. The root of the ills of our world are the wretched hearts of those who live in it.

Jeremiah 17:9
9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?"

I wonder how Walt Disney would feel about that. He was really big on following your heart. Wasn’t he?

So feel free to have a banquet if you like. Make sure you serve cake. Cake will make people stop drinking and driving. Or if you start up a Facebook group, maybe you could give away an I-Pad. In the meantime, good look with your cause. Maybe if you get lots of people together, you can change the banking system, or curb the rampant consumerism that’s killing our culture. Let me know how it works out for you.

What Does God Think About Vasectomies?

2011-12-11T12:10:00.001-08:00

A week ago, I posted this piece of scripture on my Facebook feed: “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord” Deuteronomy 23:1

The responses I received were rather predictable. There was the usual comical chatter. Some people felt that it was rather gross; not because they’re mean. They’re quite right. It is gross. Isn’t it? However, if all scripture is God breathed, then it’s useful.

In light of the passage, one of my friends asked a question.

“What about vasectomies?”

Seeing as he asked the question twice, and seeing as he is the only person to tell me that he wants me to love him, I feel compelled to answer honestly.

The verse doesn’t say ‘vasectomy’. Does it? So it would be tough for me to go hardcore against family planning. Still, the Bible doesn’t directly mention child molestation, gang violence or many things that are understood to be contrary to God’s will for mankind. So just because it doesn’t say “vasectomy”, doesn’t mean God’s good with it.

It’s not like we are meant to use the Bible as a book of rules, but for a person who sincerely desires to live a life which is pleasing in the sight of our savior, it does give us enough insight into the mind of our God.

Without doing a historical study, I somehow doubt that vasectomies were a common method of family planning back in the day. So I really wouldn’t expect it to be spelled out in the Levitical texts. However, birth control wasn’t a foreign concept to God’s people. I’ll speak on that shortly. What I’ll say for now, is that little is said with regards to birth control in any part of the law. Throughout history, God has been quite vocal and forthcoming to His people with the things that revile him. Take the time to read through Isaiah and Jeremiah. Seeing as very little is said, I wouldn’t toss and turn throughout the night if you have had your cords cut.

As I mentioned, birth control isn’t something new. I urge you to consider this story.

Genesis 38:8-10
New Living Translation (NLT)
8 Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. You must produce an heir for your brother.”
9 But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had intercourse with his brother’s wife, he spilled the semen on the ground. This prevented her from having a child who would belong to his brother. 10 But the LORD considered it evil for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the LORD took Onan’s life, too.

It’s a story which leads many people to believe that birth control is against God’s will.

To answer the question, “What does God think of vasectomies?” directly, here is what I’ll share….

I don’t know.

As people, we tend to fall in either one of two camps with regards to issues such as these. There is normally the, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT (NWWI) camp. And there is usually the IT’S A SIN (IAS) camp.

“I don’t know. Ask God.” (IDKAK) isn’t a comfortable answer. Is it? Both the NWWI and IAS camps offer a kind of human comfort that faith does not. The NWWI camp helps us to feel good about ourselves, even if something is wrong with it. When we throw in our lot with the IAS camp, we feel assured because we have taken what appears to be the moral high ground.

So how does, “I DON’T KNOW. ASK GOD.” Make you feel?

My personal take on the story of Onan goes something like this. I’ll begin by reminding you of a common truth. I’m not your God. Please keep that in the forefront of your mind as you listen to my take.

God killed the guy. That’s normally pretty serious. The account of Onan’s life seems to have less to do with communicating God’s mind on birth control, than it has to do with a man’s obligation to his brother. Was there any law about birth control? Not that I’m aware of. The law required Onan to “produce an heir for his brother.”

Take it up with God. He’s not dead. Personally, if birth control was such a big deal to Him, I think we’d see at least another specific reference or two somewhere else is scripture.

Remaining intentionally fertile often allows us to live with the mindset thinking, “I’ll let God decide how many kids I have.” Here’s my personal story.

My Story

My fourth child came rather quickly. I was playing the Farming Game with three friends from the youth group when Barb told me that we needed to leave. I was so close to winning the game, and only needed a few more minutes, but she really didn’t have the time.

By the time we made it to the hospital, my wife was too far along for the medical staff to administer any real pain relief. Her labour was quite painful. I know that very few women die anymore in childbirth, but it does still happen. There were moments where I wondered if she would have enough energy to press through.

Before delivering our fourth child, she squeezed my hand and told me, “I can’t do this again.” In that moment, it became clear to me, that I was unable to see her endure this pain for another child. I had my chords cut shortly thereafter.

I’ve never had a clear sense from the Lord one way or the other. I do know, that if anything were to happen to my wife, that I don’t think I could live with myself. I’m still willing to receive children from God if that is His will for us. It does happen on occasion.

I love my kids. In fact, I'd love nothing more than to have 20 kids and I'd buy a bus so we could all travel together. I could even have my own TV show. I didn’t undergo the procedure in an act of defiance. I did it because I loved my wife and really couldn’t bear to see her go through that again.

I do have more to say, but can’t really share it publicly. There are some aspects of my decision that really do lend themselves to purity and holiness. Yet, there is a place for discretion.

Is it hateful to accuse someone of sinning? (Call me a hater)

2011-11-27T11:33:00.001-08:00

Early on in our life as believers, my wife and I began investing ourselves in the lives of many of the high school aged youth in our church. For me, it wasn’t so much that I saw myself as being a youth pastor. It looked more like this; I was discovering my spiritual gifting as a believer in Christ, and they were the ones who were kind enough to lend me their ears.

We had been actively loving the young people of our church for a year or two when she came into our lives. Her name was Amber. She was a lovely young lady, having a beautiful smile, and tightly curled, dark brown hair. My wife and I had known her older sister for some time before hand. It’s kind of cute as I recall. Her sister consistently carried a vibrant smile on her face as well. Maybe it was genetic.

As with most relationships, it took some time before we really began to know each other. It’s as if for the most part, we live two separate lives in the world. There is often a difference between the face that we show to the world, verses the gritty lives we endure from day to day. In her case, she was struggling with an eating disorder and she had wrestled with her condition for some time. Eventually, it came to the point where she had to be hospitalized.

During that period, she asked me a very pointed question. “Kevin. Is it a sin to do what I’m doing to myself?”

How was I to respond to such a question? What about our relationship? Whenever people accuse each other of sin, it’s usually looked upon as being judgmental. Is it not? Accusing someone of living a sinful life is often categorized as hateful speech. What would it do to our relationship? If she thought that I was hating her, what were the odds that she would continue to be a part of our lives?

What about her well being? Surely she had suffered enough already. How do you tell someone who is already hurting, someone who feels trapped and unable to do anything about their situation, that the life they are living goes against God’s will for them. I can think of other people with other struggles, who in their depression have taken their own lives, because the weight of the accusation was too heavy to hold.

The following might sound like a bunny trail, but it isn’t. Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Who decides? Do your friends choose whether or not you like chocolate? What if I were to have a debate with my coworkers? Could we argue and allow the winner to choose what flavour you like? That would just be stupid. You are the one who decides.

Likewise, what about sin? If sin is being disobedient to God, then who does the deciding? God decides. We can debate all we want and draw whatever conclusions sit well with us, but in the end, our opinions really don’t matter. It’s His call. I know that the Bible doesn’t specifically mention her disorder, but it does make mention of how a believer’s body is the temple of The Holy Spirit. If I was honest with myself, I really couldn’t see how it would be God’s will for her to starve herself or head to the washroom to purge after a family dinner.

I took the risk in being honest. I risked our relationship together. I even risked her sanity. What else could I do? It was an honest question. It deserved an honest answer.

“Amber. I really don’t think that God wants you doing what you’re doing to your body. So yeah. I really think it is a sin.”

She responded with a maturity that I have NEVER witnessed in the world, and rarely witness among the faithful.

“That’s good. It’s good because I know that Jesus has power over sin. I know that even if I struggle now, I won’t have to go through this forever.”

Just to keep you updated, my family and I spent four phenomenal hours with Amber last night. She has grown into a healthy young woman, and has married a tremendous young man. What would her story have looked like, had I been the voice that said, “There’s nothing wrong with it...”? Could she have, in the words of Ezekiel, “died in her sin”? I didn’t call it a sin because I hated her or wanted to judge her. I called it sin because I loved Amber, and truly believed that this was definitely not what God wanted for her.

Glossing over sin, giving it another name or putting a smiley face on it might have the appearance of love, but it has the potential to bring us, and our loved ones, to ultimate ruin.

We Have No Imagination

2011-11-24T15:28:00.001-08:00

I’ve been learning a lot these past few days. Perhaps the biggest lesson is this – most people have absolutely no imagination. Alright. That isn’t exactly true. We do have an amazing imagination. It’s just a very selective imagination.

We can imagine that Luke Skywalker was a Jedi Knight in a galaxy far, far away, a long, long time ago. We can easily imagine that Pandora is populated by a lot of blue coloured skinny people. We can imagine that Superman narrowly escaped the destruction of his home planet of krypton, and that he has an ice palace near the north pole. We’re quickly approaching the season where we tell our loved ones that some fat guy in a red suit will bring them presents. Not only can we imagine that, some young people really believe it.

What we cannot imagine, is that our world is under the influence of the devil, and that a whole lot of us might spend eternity apart from God.

That is the very, “What if…” scenario that I have approached many people with in the past few days. Whenever I ask my , “What if…” question, I get these weird looks in response.

If I tried to invent a story of strange creatures, from another time, another planet or another dimension, perhaps the tales I tell might be a little more saleable.

Too Alien?

2011-11-23T18:34:00.001-08:00

Today has been a strange kind of day. This afternoon, the Purolator truck dropped off a box with some promotional materials for Alien Love. The package included a set of event invitations and laminated promotional posters. The delivery presents a peculiar dilemma for me.

You see, yesterday I contacted my publisher and requested that they cease from printing any further copies of my book. Some of the feedback that I’m getting seems to indicate that people who don’t know me might get the wrong impression from one of my illustrations, and jump to the conclusion that I hate them. I guess some topics are just too hot to be able to have reasonable dialogue. The mere mention of certain issues tends to polarize the conversation and we respond with our gut rather than processing what is actually written on the page before us.

Interpretation is a peculiar art. We often draw conclusions from statements which were never made in the first place. It seems obvious, to myself and others, that the kind of love I’m advocating cannot be understood by people who do not know my heart. It is in that thought, that these words have been shared with me;

“So far, I don't think I have really disagreed with anything you said. I just had to understand and knowing you, I can ask about what I don't. But I'm also recognizing how it could be taken the wrong way. I think because I know you, I can hear your voice when reading it, and I care more about what you have to say. I listen more, even when it exposes sin in my life.”

Nobody who knows me can accuse me of having a hateful or malicious heart. However, not everybody knows me. Not everyone can hear my voice as they are reading my words. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to share a coffee or a 3 hour conversation with everyone who needs me to clarify what I’m trying to communicate.

I thank each of you who have been an encouragement and who have given your honest feedback for the book.

I have no idea of where I’ll head from here. I am being urged to consider reworking my illustration, however, I find myself to be quite empty. I have been at this project for over 3 years now and I just don’t know if I can walk another mile. Overall, I feel empty.

I have 6 months to either rework my illustrations or to cancel the work entirely. I humbly ask for your prayers in this process. Other than any copies which have already been released to bookstores or to Amazon, Alien Love will not be available publicly. I do have a few copies of my own which I might sell to any friends and family who are interested.

Perhaps it really is alien after all.

Love Kevin

If You Insist on Reading It...

2011-11-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

Today I finally received the first copy of my second book, Alien Love. I’m not writing this post to try and sell it to you. Quite the opposite. You see, I’m not looking for fans or followers. After all, the way I understand it, fans are idolaters. I guess I’ll never make the New York Times’ best sellers list with an attitude like that.

I’m not looking for people to give me their money so I can quit my job, but I am looking for a few people to partner with me. Seeing as a good post here draws about 20 hits, the word, “few” is quite appropriate.

If You Are Going To Buy The Book...

If you plan on purchasing the book, there are some things I want you to know first. For a book about love, I talk quite a lot about sin. I say that up front, because I don’t want you to be surprised. The last thing I want is for someone to buy it and say, “Wow. For a book about love, he talks a lot about sin.” Actually, that's part of the reason why I called it Alien Love.

There is something else that I want you to know. I want you to know that I don’t hate anybody. I really don’t. People who warn others about sin are often accused of being hateful. I beg of you, if you are one of those people who think that it’s inherently judgmental to warn someone about sin, you probably won’t like it. As you read, you need to be able to hear the voice of someone who cares. If you aren’t able to hear the voice of someone who has a heart, you do me a great disservice by reading the text. If that’s the case, then please purchase something by Max Lucado instead.

If You Like The Book

If you are able to come up with some decent discussion questions, that would be greatly appreciated. I often think that maybe someday I would like to republish it with some discussion questions at the back of each chapter. The same goes for my first book, The Edge of His Cloak, if you ever happen to read it.

If You Think It Has the Potential to Change Lives

If you’re a believer, please pray for me and the book. For myself, pray that I’ll properly manage the duties of being an author, speaker, father, husband, believer and mechanic. Pray that I’ll have a humble heart. Pride takes on various forms. I’m not the guy who struts his stuff, expecting people to kneel before him. My pride takes on more subtle forms. My pride will have a harder time handling people who say, “Gee. It really isn’t as good as your first book.”

There were no expectations on me the first time around. I feel like I have something to live up to now. Pray that I am able to gracefully handle whatever may come.

Pray that God will disarm those who read it. Whenever we read or listen to something, we carry with us all of the baggage of our past. That baggage tends to produce a knee-jerk reaction which limits our ability to properly listen to and process what we are reading. Pray that those who read it will see it as it is, either good or bad.

When I was in the editing process, I had a homosexual read it and I asked him this question, “Do you see the love?” He responded by saying, “Yes. I do see the love, but you need to realize that a lot of people won’t. Many won’t see the love in it because they have been so damaged in their past.”

Pray that God would supernaturally reveal the baggage for what is, and the love for what it is.
Pray that Christ would be lifted up, not to be crucified again, but as high and holy. Pray that if the book is crap, that He would kill the thing. I would have preferred Him to kill it BEFORE making it into print, but perhaps He has a purpose in my public humiliation. Pray that it makes it where He wants it to go.

If you are willing to partner with me in some way, let me know. I might want some help with this project, although I don’t exactly know what that looks like.

Where to Buy...

If you live in the Aylmer area, please consider being a blessing to the people at Returning Home. They will be carrying a few copies until Christmas, and can order extras if they run out. The book can also be purchased on Amazon, although the picture isn’t up yet.

My first public appearances with the book will be at Faith on Thrusday night’s men’s Bible study on Dec. 1st and 8th. I won’t be promoting the book, but I will have copies available. I’ll be speaking from the book of Mark.

Providing that the book is acceptable to my church, I plan on having copies available Sunday mornings in December at our resource centre.

Final Thoughts

If you would really like to read the book, but really can’t afford it, let me know. Find me on Facebook and I’ll send you a link to an electronic version. I didn’t write the book to make money.

If you are someone I know, thank you for your friendship. If you are someone I do not know, I hope you can imagine yourself being my friend.

Love Kevin

Other Things

2011-11-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

This past week at men’s group, we were looking at Mark 4:1-20. It might be familiar to some of us as Jesus’ parable of the sower. In the passage, Jesus talks about 4 different kinds of soils, yet it really isn’t about soil. He’s talking about people and how we respond to God’s word when it is spoken into our lives. The weedy, thorny soil remains with me. In fact, the issues that I’ll be sharing with you remain with me on many days.

When Jesus explains the parable, He says that some seed is, “sown among thorns. They are those that hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” Mark 4:18-19

Do you ever wonder who this might describe? Do you ever also wonder exactly what parameters would identify a life lived among these kinds of thorns? Do you ever wonder whether or not this person is saved?

What really sticks with me is when Jesus refers to the desire for “other things”.

It’s the kind of statement that really leaves a lot of room for condemnation. What are “other things” anyway? Asked another way, what aren’t “other things”? It would be entirely different if Jesus was referring to sinful things, but He doesn’t. It would be easier if he was merely referring to things that are of the sinful nature wouldn’t it?

After all, that’s clear isn’t it? For the believer, group sex is out. Got it. Partying like a rockstar is out. Got it. Sorcery doesn’t belong. Got that too. Gossip, slander and deceit don’t belong in the life of the redeemed. Easy stuff.

Other things…..

Where does it begin, and where does it end? Could it be chocolate? Lego? Corn? Nintendo? Shoes?

As we live out our calling, I find that there are two twisted reactions to passages such as these. We can take “other things” to be EVERYTHING, or to be NOTHING.

Everything

Jesus is everything. Anything that does have Jesus stamped on it has no place in the life of someone who knows Him. If you go on a holiday, it needs to be a missions trip. If you are shopping for groceries, you had better use it as an opportunity to witness. Unnecessary home renovations are always completely worldly. Any music you listen to needs to literally sing the praises of Jesus. If you’re going to watch fireworks, use it as an opportunity to hand out Gospel tracts. (or Gideon Bibles. My tract of choice.) Any “other things” in our lives are from the Devil and need to be eradicated from our lives if we’re going to properly live out a Biblical faith. Fun is bad. Work for Jesus is good.

Nothing

Gi-Joe is fine. There is nothing wrong with having action figures right? Jesus certainly isn’t referring to sports. Go Leafs go! They are going to win the cup this year. I think I’ll book my room for the playoffs this week. If He had meant something specifically, then He would have said it as it is. Snowmobiling is fine, so I can head out as often as the ground is covered in white. Fishing, golf and video games are good to go. Nothing is bad and off limits, so this passage really doesn’t hold any weight over our lives. It’s just there to allow legalists to try and abuse our conscience. Fun is good. Fundamentalist who are always trying to win souls to Christ are bad.

If you are a fleshly creature, I likely won’t be of much help to you. To be honest, I’m not so sure I have it laid out for myself. The Everything crowd is right. They are also wrong. The Nothing people are right. They also happen to be wrong.

If we’re going to make any sense of this, maybe it’s best to simply think on what Jesus says and what He doesn’t say. This is not a lesson on morality. This particular soil might not even be dealing with the individual’s salvation. The plants that sprung up didn’t die. We’re merely told that “it proves unfruitful”.

I know what some of you are thinking. So. Does it mean that kind of soil isn’t saved? We worry so much about that in Christian circles don’t we? Let’s face it. If the whole thing about hell and fire are true in the literal sense, we want to make sure we end up on the good side of eternity. Whether or not this particular type of soil is ‘saved’ is debatable in my opinion.

What I Know

As much as we wonder about salvation, there is more to a believing life than being saved. Having fun isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Solomon told us that, “A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.” Ecclesiastes 7:4 I know it’s foolish to be predominantly concerned about our pleasure, no matter what form it takes on. My personal bent is towards the comic book reading, video game nerd crowd. Maybe you’re the sports fan or the book worm.

I also know that it’s possible, in light of eternity, to waste the days that we are given.

1 Corinthians 3:13-15
New Living Translation (NLT)
13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

There is a kind of faith to be lived, which escapes the fires of hell, but was a complete waste of time. That type of faith that we read about here in Corinthians isn’t one which is meant to be admired. It’s the kind of faith, that on judgment day will “suffer great loss”. Don’t tell me you want that. Making it through the fires of judgment is a good thing on its own. It’s much better than burning up. However, it isn’t the most desirable condition. Imagine that you make it through, but everything else in your life was burned up. I bet you can handle your workplace being incinerated, and maybe even your life savings. What about your friends? What about your family?

It isn’t that we have the power to control the eternity of those we know. For my part, I can handle my friends and family living apart from Christ for all eternity, so long as I have been faithful in living out my faith among them. If that is what they really want, who am I to stand in their way? I can NOT handle the thought of having my friends and family torched because I was too busy about other things, to be a willing witness for Christ.

What I Do

I’m not your God. So make up your own mind. Here is how I regulate what place “other things” have in my life. Follow this riddle. I don’t buy many other things, but I have other things. Specifically, I have a lot of video games, but I don’t buy video games. How can i have video games if i don't buy video games? The people in my life get those things for me because they know I like them.

Does that mean I’m in the clear? Not exactly. That’s just the way I’ve chosen to manage those “other things”. I’ve told you before. I’m not your God and I stopped trying to be the answer man a long time ago. What if your wife won’t buy you a Wii? What if you never get to have fun ever again? Maybe you will never have fun ever again. Considering a life that suffers great loss on That Day, would it be so bad to miss out on some of the pleasure in this life?

We have fun in our home, but our lives don’t revolve around where we’re going to eat this week, what we’re going to buy on the weekend or planning our getaway. We laugh. We listen to Bill Cosby. We sit down for 15 minutes every evening to look into God’s word and talk about its bearing on our lives. That’s what I do. Is it completely right? :-/

If There Was A Conclusion…

I believe we do a disservice when we gravitate either towards Everything or Nothing. I think specifically of my pastor who has taken up golf in these past few years. He tells me, “Sometimes in ministry, you can get so busy serving that your life and your family fall apart.” There has to be a place for at least some “other things”.

At the same time, I feel strongly that we also do ourselves a disservice in living out a life which thinks, “It’s all good. God is in all things so we don’t have to be concerned with anything that literally carries the name of Jesus.”

Finding the ‘middle road’ isn’t exactly the answer either. It comes down to this; What kind of Jesus have you believed in? Maybe you don’t believe in any kind of Jesus at all. In that case, you might as well eat drink and be merry, because tomorrow you die anyway. We’re here for a good time. Not a long time. Right? If you believe in a Jesus, maybe He’s a fairy tale Jesus, who really hasn’t prepared us for any kind of work in the world. He came, He taught some nice life lessons, but He’s dead and certainly doesn’t have any calling on our lives, let alone the means to communicate His vision to us.

Or perhaps you serve the living Christ. He has both a call over your life, the means to communicate the vision and the strength to empower you to that end. Are you walking in step with Him?

In the end, each of our work will be revealed for what it really is. If we have no care whatsoever for the role that “other things” play in our lives, how serious are we about doing our part in these evil days? I’ve been honest with you…..

What place do you give to those “other things”?

Kevin

PS. If you have it all figured out, you really didn’t like this post. Did you?

Do We Ever Get our Fill of Blood?

2011-10-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

A month or two ago, an old friend of mine posted a question, asking for some input from the ‘big shots’ in his life. From his vantage point, I often wonder who his big shots are. I don’t know if anyone answered him or not. If my memory serves me correctly, here was his question;

“Why do we like scary movies?”

We do we? We have little tolerance for a life well lived. We prefer to watch some beautiful young lady in a bikini as she is torn apart by a shark or being hacked up by a chainsaw. THAT is entertainment.

There is a principle at work that I share with you on a consistent basis and it goes like this...

The lives we live are a reflection of who we really are.

So if we enjoy watching the suffering of other human beings, what does it say about us?

Any serious thinking human must know what I’m about to share with you, although, depending on one’s worldview, each will give it a different name. There is something dreadfully wrong in the heart of humanity. Sigmund Freud called it the ID. I believe that Steven King said that to varying degrees, we’re all crazy. One might think that he might have at least some insight as to why we like scary films.

As a culture, it seems obvious that Christ’s words apply directly to us when He said;

“..people loved the darkness more than the light...”John 3:19

We love the darkness. Don’t we? At work last week, I spoke with a teacher who was transferred from a progressive school in town, to one of those backwards rural public schools. It’s the kind of school where they still have the nerve to allow Gideons to hand out testaments. I asked him if he noticed any difference between his old school and the new school. This was his response.

“Well, at the rural school, I don’t have to confront gang members or try and check them for weapons before class.”

This is the expression of our brand of civil freedom. I’m not complaining. I’m really not. I’m not saying that we should bring prayer back into public schools, place a Bible in every desk, or even that doing these would cure our ills. What I’m saying, is that we prefer Saw to Hammy Hamster. We prefer drugs over prayer and switchblades to testaments. We glorify celebrities whose lives end in train-wreck. I’m fine with all of this. In fact, you have no idea of how fine I am with it.

We are increasingly a people who love to see the shed blood of others, but it’s completely acceptable because it comes in the form of entertainment. We’re going the way of Rome. Here is a question to ponder; Is there any act so vile, that it is offensive to portray it on screen?

I’m not a big shot. I’m just a guy who loves his wife and children. I make my living fixing other people’s problems. I have been faithful to my family, and by God’s grace, I intend to remain so as long as I shall live. I don’t live the kind of life that many people would want to see in a film.

Just in case you are wondering, I don’t care if you watch horror films or not. If you enjoy watching the suffering of other human beings, turning off the TV won’t fix what’s in your heart. If you don’t want to think on things that are pure, true, noble, honourable and worthy of praise, then please don’t. If you enjoy watching someone being beaten into a bloody stump, then by all means, feed your fever. Maybe not everything I watch is completely on the up and up either. If so, the problem isn’t on screen.

There has to be another way to be human.

Occupying Canada

2011-10-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve been following the coverage for today’s Occupy Canada thing. As a believer, I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. The general consensus seems to be that ‘the system isn’t working’. I believe wholeheartedly that the whole world is broken; irreparably. For me however, this really isn’t my country, so I have a hard time understanding my place in it. I don’t know about you, but my citizenship is in heaven. This is just my temporary assignment.

From a worldly perspective however, I often question what these demonstrators really expect. What would the solution be for them? What would actually be the fix? We’ve tried all of the 'isms. Fascism was great. Communism was one step better. Socialism is a blast isn’t it? How about tribalism? In my own opinion, Capitalism has done about the best because it uses greed as it fuel, and it seems to be a completely renewable resource.

There is no ‘ism that will fix our dying world. There is no world system which consistently produces goodwill and prosperity for all of its citizens. If there were, there would be some country where the ‘ism has erased poverty and satisfied the public at large. As it stands, Canada must have one of the best ‘isms available, because we are consistently one of the best countries to live in throughout the entire civilized world. So if this country isn’t good enough, what is?

Yeah. We have problems. We really do. I somehow doubt that any people group or ideology really holds the answers. Call me cynical. We elect a new leader every 4-8 years or so, and it’s funny, our problems don’t go away. It doesn’t matter who carries the mantle or what colour their elections signs were. We still have problems. I'd bet my organs that our problems won't go away no matter who we call to office, no matter their qualification, their ideology, their race, gender or sex.

One of the main complaints has been greed itself, but is seems as if we are only upset at certain forms of greed; corporate greed to be precise. Other forms of greed are quite acceptable to us as a culture.

Greed is about this. It’s about, more. That’s it. Just more. More never stops. More does show up in corporate life. More also shows up in the workforce, whether unionized or not. I guess if it’s unionized, the labour force might get a little more of the more. Management always wants more. More shows up in the business arena. No matter how good you do or what sales quota you reach, it’s never really good enough. The goal is always more for next year. More is for everybody. The rich want more. The strangest thing of all, is that the poor want more too. We've all got the bug.

I agree in principle with so much that is being said behind the protests. I think we do depend way too much on drugs and pharmaceuticals. I think that we as a people need to be content, but not just in the corporate world.

Even though I agree much in principle with many of the sentiments behind the peaceful protest, I must be one of the 1 percent, because I really don’t feel that the protests represent me. I believe wholeheartedly, that they think in every way the same as the very people they claim to be against. There is a message that I am definitely not hearing from any of them. If anyone wants my support, here is the message I’m looking to hear.

“Less for us.”

To date, I have not heard of any group telling the government, “It’s okay. We’re willing to receive less and give more.” We will not recover unless people begin stepping forward to make personal sacrifice, and I hear absolutley nobody willing to do so.

There is one area of human life where we really aren’t greedy and a friend of mine brought it to my attention today. As a world, we really don’t want more of Christ do we? I’m not complaining about it. I don’t expect the citizens of this world to want more of the God of Heaven. Why would I? That would be treasonous.

I do like the thoughts however that it could be said of me. “Man. That guy just never gets enough of Jesus. He’s a Jesus freak.”

I promise you this. You will not find an ‘ISM which fixes the world. You will not find a leader apart from Christ who can permanently carry your hopes and trust. I’m told that the Anti-Christ might be able to do that for a time, but we’ll see.

Have fun with your world. You seem to have all the answers. Let me know how it works for you.

From Toilet to Testaments

2011-10-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

My knuckles are still sore from that knockout punch I delivered on my toilet bowl yesterday. If you are wondering about why I would beat up my toilet, you’ll have to friend me on Facebook to see the pictures. No. I was not angry or venting out of any pent up frustration. My wife and I are redoing our upstairs bathroom and beating it up just seemed like a fun way to break it down into a form where our garbage man would take it away for us. We aren’t the kind of people who enjoy spending money decorating our home, but some of the plumbing was leaking, which ruined the flooring and black mould was beginning to grow on the ceiling downstairs.

Today was a much different day than yesterday. I had the privilege of handing out New Testaments to some of the grade 5 classes in 4 of the schools in my area. Without fail, every time I am out witnessing and giving away Bibles, there is always one person who catches my attention; someone who says something to me that impacts my heart and remains very much in mind for weeks and years to come. This morning was no exception.

We were in one of the public schools in our area. That in itself is an extraordinary privilege. I told the class that we as Gideons are men and women who believe that there is but One God who loves every single person on the face of the earth. He sent His son Jesus in order to make us right with Himself and we want to make sure that everyboy at least has the opportunity to get to know Him. I know that many of you would have presented the gospel much more clearly. But that’s the problem isn’t it? You weren’t there. I’ll be more than happy if God sends someone more qualified to fill my shoes. If you can present the Gospel much more clearly, I’ll be happy to step aside. Seriously.

After describing to the best of my abilities the value of knowing Jesus, one girl quietly raised her hand. I don’t know her name or her parents, and in a way, maybe that’s a good thing. She was a lovely young lady with longish blonde hair. After I acknowledged her, she went on to reveal a little bit of her family life;

“My mom and dad said that the TV brought sin into our house. Once we got rid of it, it made it all better.”

I wish I had more time to prepare for situations like this. How do you respond to a statement like that in a public school setting? Reflecting on the moment, there are many more things I would like to have shared.

In my heart, I feel for both the girl and for the family. Maybe in some way, the situation in their home isn’t quite exactly the way she has received it. Maybe her parents aren’t that black and white about it. My wife and I don’t have cable, satellite or even a working antenna, but it isn’t because the sin comes through the TV.

Or maybe they really do believe that sin comes through the television, and if we just get rid of the TV demon, that will make us right with God. If that’s the case, I still feel for them. In their heart of hearts, they might really believe that, and no matter how misguided, their intentions might be completely honourable.

Personally, I don’t plan on getting cable anytime soon. Whenever we are away staying at a motel, we turn it on. When we do, we’re reminded that we really aren’t missing much. In fact, I do believe that our family does enjoy a certain kind of intimacy because we aren’t plugged into the world in that way. There are often blessings to be had for turning off the screen.

(We do watch some programming via the internet, which really isn’t much different. Our family’s favourite show is The Biggest Loser.)

I hope I responded in a way that glorifies God and gives Christ His proper place.

“Personally, I don’t think it quite works that way, but if your parents don’t want you watching TV, I hope you’ll respect that for now.”

There is but one way to the Father, and it’s through Christ and Him alone. Self denial often carries with itself an appearance of godliness, and even has a place in our faith. The sin however doesn’t live in the TV, the bottle or the pill. The sin dwells either in our hearts or in our flesh.

I’ve said what I could and done what I could. I have to trust God for the rest.

I’ll be thinking and praying for her and her family for some time to come; perhaps for the rest of my life.

Do You Want Me To Love You?

2011-10-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of catching up with a young man who used to be one of THEM. Sitting in a small coffee shop in the north end of Aylmer, we talked about many things. We recalled fondly the days when we first met. We talked about the goings on in our current lives, the challenges of married life and our role in the workplace. We talked about God, what he’s doing in our lives as well as some of our personal struggles.

During our time together, I took some time to share with him a story from my work life. The story recalls the events of a conversation I had with one of my coworkers.

The Story

As I recall, it was in the dead of winter, just before the time when we open the doors to the public. Timothy walked in the doors, carrying a bewildered expression on his face.

“What’s wrong with old people?” he asked.

Inquisitive, I responded, “What do you mean?”

“Well. I’m driving to work, and there is this old guy crossing Main St. in front of me. He takes like forever to cross, so I had to wait for him to get to the other side. It’s 7:30am in the morning! What was he doing up at that time of the day anyway? When I retire, I’m not going to get up that early. Isn’t it dumb? What do they have that is so important to do? What do you think?”

Timothy stood quietly, waiting for my response. As I think on the moment, what probably took a matter of seconds, draws on for an hour or so as I replay the
scene as it happened in my mind. The question I thoroughly pondered within those few seconds went something like this; “Do I tell him what I really think?”

I mean, I have had conversations like this with Tim before, and whenever I have told him what I actually thought, they had always tended to pull us into some kind of argument. Would it be worth the effort to tell him what I actually thought? Did we have time for the discussion anyway? We were supposed to be opening the store to the public in minutes.

As I considered his question and reflected on his story, my mind was remembering the conversations I have had with some of the elderly people in my life. The explanation I received from them time after time was very consistent from person to person. Their stories each echoed something to this effect;

When you spend your entire working life getting up to go to work at 6:00am, it’s impossible to stop just because you are retired. It’s difficult to reverse a habit that you have developed during your entire adult life.

Should I have shared that with Timothy? If the conversation devolved into another conflict, would it be worth it? I decided against honesty.

I just smiled and nodded my head. I really didn’t think he valued my opinion, even though he asked for it.

Back at the Coffee Shop…

My friend sat back in his chair, giving me a thoughtful glare. “Kevin. Can I be honest with you?”

“Of course you can.”

“I don’t think you really love that guy.”

Pausing for a moment, I had to acknowledge he was right. I really didn’t believe that pursuing an authentic relationship with Timothy was worth the aggravation. However, I often question whether or not Timothy even wanted me to love him in the first place. Would he have received it well, were I to set him straight on his perception of the elderly?

Whenever I speak, whether in person, on stage, in an e-mail, through a book or in a blog post, I often wonder who you are and if you really want me to love you or not. If you are a non-believer, do you want me to love you? It’s a fair question isn’t it? I often check out message boards and chat rooms, hearing similar complaints from non-believers,

“Christians shouldn’t try to force their religion on other people.”

Personally, I don’t think it’s even possible to force a personal faith in Jesus on another human being. However, there is a deep rooted resistance among many to be presented the good news that we have peace with God through faith alone in Christ alone.

Is that you? If you really don’t want me to give you a Bible, invite you to church or ask you to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour, you have no idea of how fine I am with that. If spending eternity apart from Christ is fine with you, I’m okay with it too. I hear it’s pretty horrible, but if you don’t care, then I’ll do my personal best not to care.

If you don’t like being told about Jesus, I have great news. Most Christians don’t want to tell you about him either. The ones you think might be trying to “force their faith” on you probably actually love you more than those who leave you alone. (Notice my use of the word, “probably”. It’s not always the case.)

As I have worked through my latest book, Alien Love, and as I recount my conversation at the coffee shop with my friend, I realize that I have loved very few people authentically. My coffee shop friend has been among the few.

When he was going out with his girlfriend, I used to wonder if he was fornicating. On the outside, they were both professing to be following Christ so I was hoping that they were able to remain faithful to Him in their relationship with each other.

How do you ask that sort of thing? Do you just come out and ask? “Hey! Are you two doing the nasty? It’s a sin you know.”

I don’t remember how I asked them, but I do vividly remember their response. They each smiled and paused to look into each other’s eyes. Looking back at me they responded, “We’re waiting for each other.”

You can do whatever you want with your life and I’ll still love you. Yet, if you really want me to care about you, I’ll need to know, because if I don’t perceive that you welcome my input into your life, I’ll just smile and nod.

I promise that I’ll only care as much as you want me to. If you tell me to leave you alone, I am completely fine with that. How forthcoming do you want to be with those whose lives intersect with your own? To what extent do we actually want the honest input of others into our lives?

If you’re characterized by a dirty mind, or a dirty mouth, do you want me to be fine with it? Should I be? If you’re thinking of walking out on your family because it’s not fun anymore, what do you really expect me to say?

Likewise, seeing as this is sent out to anyone in the world with internet access, I’m not so sure how much I want you to be completely forthcoming to me.

Kevin

PS – Timothy. Did you want me to love you? Or are you glad that I just smiled and nodded?

Thursday. Sept 29, 2011.

2011-09-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

I often wonder why God has me do the things that I do. As far as my writing goes, I don’t even pretend to have some inside track or insight into the person of Jesus or the truths of the Gospel. That’s what writers are supposed to do aren’t they? Aren’t they supposed to bring to life an aspect of Jesus that the rest of the world has missed? Aren’t they supposed to highlight some grand deficiency within the church and point the way out of the mess? I have never pretended to write or to say anything that has not been said or thought of before. I am sure that you have had many original thoughts yourself.

Even though I haven’t set myself up to start that special denomination which has sole proprietorship of the “true faith”, God still see fit for some reason to keep me employed in His service. This Thursday evening I’ll be teaching our church’s men’s Bible study at 7:00pm.

Without fail, every time I speak, I often ask myself the question, “Do I still have it?”

I am neither trained nor schooled as a speaker. I do get the odd opportunity, but it’s normally months between engagements, so I wouldn’t even say that I am practiced. Maybe God is done with me as a speaker or teacher. There are other aspects of my calling that have fallen by the wayside over time, so how do I know for certain whether or not the same won’t happen for me as a speaker?

If I was trained, at least if I was empty on the inside, I could fake it. I could still put on a decent performance. As it is, if my heart runs cold, I know I’ll probably fall flat on my face. This begs the question:

“Would I want the ability to fake it?”

If I was dead on the inside, would I even want to have the appearance of one who is standing firm in Christ? I think I’d rather fall. I’d rather embarrass myself than to give off the impression of being something that I’m not.

So if you’re a guy, and you are considering coming to Faith this Thursday evening, please don’t come with any expectations because I don’t know what to expect myself. If you’re wanting a heads up on what we’ll be covering, here is a link to the notes that I’ll be speaking from.

Hope to see you there.

Living With a Clear Conscience.

2011-09-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

People are rarely as secure in their life choices as they would prefer you to believe. Otherwise, how on earth could anyone ever “make them feel guilty”?

We are rarely as secure in our life choices as we would prefer others to believe. Otherwise, how could their words ever “make us feel guilty”?

"Mom. Where do Missionaries come from?"

2011-09-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

It often seems like we’ve fabricated an extra biblical vernacular. We commonly use words and phrases that are neither part of our culture, nor from scripture themselves. I’m okay with it. I really am. Please feel free to use words like eschatology, hermeneutics, cessationism, or imputation any time you like. There are descriptive purposes for these terms that few other words are able to capture.

Some words however, have evolved into the very fabric of our faith which have become commonplace, which at the same time, I believe serves to create a disconnect between the faith that we live and the faith that was lived out in scripture. This post might be challenging for some of you. In fact, some of you might want to bring my card carrying Christ-citizenship into question. Think about this word;

Missionary.

Where do we see the word used in the actual biblical text? We don’t. Do we? Well, kind of. In our English translations, the word only shows up in some of the subheadings that we have created to describe Paul’s ministry.

I’m fine with the use of the word, “missionary”. I really am. You will probably hear me use it from time to time myself. However, when did missionaries come to be? Is it a new spiritual gift that came to be after Biblical texts were canonized?

In the circles that I run, we talk about missionaries quite often. Yet when we read the Bible, we hear absolutely nothing about missionaries, in the sense that we speak of them in our day. The words that we use to describe the work of people such as Paul, aren’t the same words that they used to describe their own role within the world as part of the body of Christ. What word did Paul use to describe His calling in Christ?

I’m tempted to leave the post here, and force you to figure it out for yourself, because I know that some of you are lazy. You might also be set in your ways, and you will rage against what I say without actually looking at it for what it is. The truth of the matter, is that the very people who might rage against this the most, are the very people whom I desire to please. Yet, I’m not called to be a people pleaser. Am I?

So I ask the question again. What word does Paul use to describe his role in the body of Christ? Are you ready?

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God...”Ephesians 1:1

Paul describes himself as being an apostle of Christ Jesus. Just so you know that I’m not taking a small sound byte from scripture, check it out. That isn’t the only place in scripture where Paul’s role is described as an apostle.

Many of the people whom I like to please lean towards thinking that apostles don’t exist anymore. It’s a spiritual gifting that died somewhere around 70 AD. I don’t know what significant even happened to squash that specific work of the Spirit, but it must have been as great or greater than the accomplished work of Christ on Calvary’s hill. There were only 13 Apostles, (14 if you count Judas) and they all died.

When we think of apostles, what comes to mind? Do you think of the 12? Were they an elite bunch? We may think of the people who performed those freaky ultra super amazing spectacular miraculous things. We might think of the demons driven out. We often think of the dead being raised. We think of the healings. And why not? Those things tended to accompany the apostles.

However, if we look at the word, ‘apostle’ for what it is, the miracles and the works had little to do with the role itself, but merely accompanied the men who were called as such. The word apostle literally means, “one who is sent”. Hmm. Sounds a lot like what we might call a missionary. I wonder why that is.

As for me, I believe that God still gifts people by His Spirit in order to send them. I believe that the word apostle is still appropriate to describe those who are sent to lands and peoples unknown to them.

Do I need to find a new chuch?

Dear Punk;

2011-09-07T15:18:00.001-07:00

So you’ve been going to church lately. That’s good. I’m happy for you. I really am. I just want to make sure we have an understanding about a few things.

Just so you know, I’ve been here in this workplace for the past 10 years. So if you’re turning into one of those Evangelical types, you need to know that this is my gig. So if anyone gets saved around here, it goes on my tally.

I don’t mind the thoughts of you growing up to be a better mechanic than me someday, but I won’t stand for you to become a better evangelist or a more effective witness for Christ. I’ve worked too hard and for too long to let some punk kid with an earring ruin my Christian monopoly on this place.

I like working with you. I really do. I’m just saying, if you are going to try and win souls to Christ, go find your own gig. So go to your little church, with your own little people, saying your own little prayers. I’ve got dibs on this place. Just do your job and drink your gravy. It’s what you’re good at.

Sincerely,
Kevin

PS. On a serious note- you are in my prayers. I pray that you are finding what you are looking for in the person of Christ. It’s a privilege to know and work with you.

Alien, Earthling, or Tourist?

2011-08-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

1 Peter 2:11
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

If I ever print T-shirts, this verse is going on the back. More and more, I find myself thinking about the kinds of metaphors which are meant to capture the role of our lives as believers in the world. In describing our place in this world, the Bible uses words such as, ambassadors, aliens, sojourners, strangers and soldiers.

There are many titles that the Bible uses to describe our place on this earth. The word, “tourist” isn’t among them. Although, I think it would be a more accurate descriptor for many of us; myself included at times.

The Question

When we look at the terms that I have mentioned, what is the common theme? (aliens, sojourners, ambassadors, soldiers, strangers)

I’ll leave you with that thought for a moment.

I don’t know about you, but I often wonder what it would have been like to be alive in Jesus’ day. Specifically, when I hear the messages that Christ preached, they don’t sound similar to the kinds of sermons that I hear from pastors and preachers in our time. I’m not being critical of those who preach in our era, in fact, I prefer to think that I walk among them.

But be honest. If you listen to the words that Christ spoke, they don’t sound the same as if you are listening to a sermon from John Piper or John MacArthur. Do they? In fact, Jesus rarely, if ever, delivered what we would characterize as being a classical sermon. Sure. He gave what we have labeled to be “The Sermon on The Mount”, but it doesn’t read as a true sermon.

The Answer

Matthew 4:23
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

If you read the Gospels, it won’t take you very long before you notice the phrase, “the good news of the kingdom.” The message that Christ proclaimed through His stories wasn’t a message against spousal abuse, drug use or homosexuality. His message was often described as the good news of the kingdom.

Words such as soldier, ambassador, alien, and sojourner have implications with regards to our citizenship. The good news that Jesus preached was the opportunity to become a citizen of God’s Kingdom.

Now, the word, “kingdom” holds little value in our time. So when we hear about the good news of the kingdom, it has the potential to leave us with some freaky ultra spiritual feeling. The word kingdom might take us back to a time with men wearing armor, jousting for the hand of their fair lady.

The good news, is that through Christ, we have the opportunity to become card carrying citizens of God’s country. Is that good news?

For many, it is. When is the last time you heard anyone say, “I am so happy with the government that we have.” “Boy. Every time the government does something, they do it so well.” I don’t know about you, but I hear SOOOO much complaining about the government, no matter who sits at the top.

Whenever we have elections, there is this sense that if we elect the right person, they should be able to fix our problems. I remember the optimism that seemed to capture the world when Obama won the US presidency. George W, was the bad guy, and this new guy had the right answers. How did that turn out? If they elect a republican back into office, maybe that will put America back on top again.

No matter who takes the helm, our problems don’t go away. Christ offers us citizenship into a nation that will never go the way of the Mayans, whose credit rating will never be downgraded and whose citizens are all cared for. It’s a country without end, without crime, without sickness or death.

That might not sound like good news for you. You might like it here. You might like the very things that are outlawed in His country. You have the privilege to enjoy them while you can. Perhaps you really are an earthling. That wouldn't be a compliment.

Where do you belong? Is this your home? Are you quite comfortable here? If Christ were to reign here in a literal sense, would that ruin your fun?

You Know It's True

2011-08-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

What is your attitude towards people who think that they are better than you? Does anyone come to mind? Some people just seem to leave us with the impression that we would have to climb up a notch in order to come to their level. You might notice it in the way that they look at you when they talk. They may even say as much. Have you ever tried to impress such a person? It doesn’t work does it? No matter how hard you try, they still think of you as a miscreant.

If you gravitate towards people who think that they are better than you, let me know. You’d be an interesting case study. For the most part, we tend to dislike those who seem to carry an air of superiority about themselves.

I often find it quite humorous, that wherever God is concerned, we somehow think that the rules should change. We rarely admire those who carry that, “I’m better than you” attitude, yet miraculously, we expect that God should be impressed.

Have you ever thought to yourself,
“I must be okay with God, because I’m better than most people.”
“I don’t do any really bad stuff, like those drug dealers, murderers, or thieves.”
“I know people who are always trying to do good, surely they must be in.”

The cross really is foolishness to those who are perishing, but at the same time, something within us knows the Gospel to be true. When we look at many of our theories for what they are, they really do break down when we look at them in light of life and truth.

Understanding life helps us to understand truth. Maybe you really do admire people who look down on you. The chances are that you don’t. If we live with an elitist attitude, can we really suppose that God will reward us for being self righteous? Personally, I think He’ll be more prone to accuse us of being a pompous jerk. (Another phrase comes to mind, but it’s not appropriate.)

Ephesians 2:8
8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

I’m not here to argue with you. I’m fine with you believing whatever it is you choose to believe. However, I implore you to be consistent in your thinking. Rather than climbing up, He sent His Son to rescue us, even from our own self righteousness. If you are one of those people who tries to do good everyday, I really am thankful for all that you do. I truly am. Just don’t be duped into thinking that you can impress a God who is better than you.

Maybe you have friends who really are great people. In fact, they are better than most Christians you know. God wants them in His family too. Have you told them as much?

If Dying Seems Like The Only Way Out...

2011-08-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

If you’ve lost all hope, don’t know where to turn and can’t possibly see how you can continue on, please consider Christ. Be honest with yourself. That crutch you turn to hasn’t been able to hold you up anyway. In fact, it’s the very thing that’s killing you.

Cry out to Jesus..

If you are open to Him, have a read through Luke. Click here. You just might find that you’re exactly the kind of person He cares most about.

A New Spiritual Gift?

2011-08-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Pop Quiz;

So what do you do when a fellow believer does or says something wrong?

A) Gossip behind their back, complaining about the things they have done.
B) Write a blog, exposing them to public shame and disgrace.
C) Tell the leadership of their church and demand that disciplinary action be taken.
D) Approach them personally to discuss the issue at hand.

I once asked this question to a group of people. I asked them to answer from two perspectives. First off, I asked them how we tend to respond as Christians. Most of them admitted that we tend to gossip and complain about the offense.

I then asked them, what is the right answer? They picked ‘D’.

In my mind, it’s becoming increasingly popular to trash people via the internet. The way that we handle doctrinal issues has become an extension of the world. You see it all the time in the headlines don’t you? “This GUY, Trashes that WOMAN”. Rebuking someone publicly using the world wide web has become a tool that allows us to act every bit as worldly as our favourite celebrities.

Matthew 18:15-17
New International Version (NIV)
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

I’m not going to write a blog on a complete procedure for discipline. What I do want to share, is that subjecting a fellow believer to public scrutiny(or even a non-believer for that matter) should have little place in our faith.

Rather than complaining behind their back, writing an article or taking it up with the elders, we’re called to bring our concerns directly to the person in question. We don’t do that very often. Do we? Why not? Is it because we’re biblically illiterate? Is it because we haven’t earned the right to speak into their lives? Is it because we don’t even know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone who knows them? Is it fear?

We are called first to approach the person personally. Jesus didn’t come to earth to make us better citizens, teach us theology or to fight drug abuse. He came to seek and to save the lost. He came to bring us into a right relationship with The Father. Part of that plan involves us actually loving each other. Think about it. If you are headed down the wrong path, how would you prefer to have it addressed? Do you want some person you’ve never met trashing you on their blog space? Do you want your church to hold a secret meeting about how to discipline you? Do you prefer that people would gossip behind you back? Do you want them to write a book which argues against your book? Or would you rather hear the words from someone who knows you, someone who cares about you and is genuinely concerned about your well being?

As for me, I prefer the way of Christ. Sometimes, I wonder if public fault finding is a new spiritual gift for the 21st century. I am so thankful for the few men and women of faith who have confronted me with things that weighed heavily on their hearts. I’m thinking specifically of two women in particular from my old church. I remember their tone and their posture. I remember the look in their eyes; that look where I knew they were almost afraid to say anything to me. That very same expression carried with it a measure of care and compassion.

I pray that you are surrounded by people who care enough to rebuke you in the same way. I pray that we’ll all refrain from turning our sins and disagreements into a public spectacle.

Maybe It's Not You

2011-08-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, I spoke on Luke 15. The first part that I walked through was the parable of the lost sheep. In His story, Jesus speaks of how a responsible shepherd will leave his 99 sheep in order to search for the one that is lost.

Please read it for yourself if it interests you.

On the surface, the story can leave us with the impression that Jesus was saying that the Pharisees were okay, and that he needed to spend his time with the notorious sinners and tax collectors. It doesn’t take too much meditation or study to realize that this isn’t the case. If He is counting them as the 99, His commentary might go something more like this;

“You guys seem to have life all figured out. You really don’t need me.”

In my own little world, I often wonder if I’m making the best use of my time as I take this brief journey here on earth. Lately, I’ve been tempted to waste my time arguing with people who have it all figured out, and I know I need to spend my time searching for the lost sheep instead.

As for me, the more I study the Bible, the less I realize I know. When I was a newer believer, I had my theology pretty much sorted out, but the more I study the actual scriptures, the more I realize that God doesn’t paint life in black and white. I often find myself at odds with people who seem absolutely clear on issues that I find are not crystal clear in the Bible.

I don’t believe that the Bible is crystal clear on free will and election. There are passages in scripture that seem to defend either side. So in the end, I often come across as being a hypocrite, because if you get into a discussion with me, I’ll refer to some passages which imply that each of us has a choice to make. And a few minutes later, I’ll refer to the passage which says that the book of life was written before the foundation of the world.

You’ll also hear me say that the Bible is the final authority on spiritual truth. At the same time, you might also hear me say that I see little evidence which indicates that God has stopped communicating directly with humanity.

If I were a betting man, here is my wager. If you are one of those people who is absolutely certain on many of the debatable doctrines of the Christian faith, I bet that the Bible isn’t your only source. I bet you read other books. Don’t you?

Oh! I didn’t bet any money. That would be gambling. (Which is forbidden somewhere I’m sure.)

I don’t believe that God has left me in this world to argue with people who know everything. I believe that he has left me here to find perhaps that one coin or that one sheep. So if you want to respond by telling me how wrong I am and how right you are, I’m pretty sure you aren’t the one He has left me here to find.

PS No. I don't think it's a sin to read books other than the Bible.

AbellFIFA Summary

2011-08-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Soccer season has come to a close today on the open fields of Aylmer. Apparently, if your shoe falls off during play, your goal doesn’t count. Who knew?

Between our 4 children, our family’s record was 10 wins, 21 losses and 1 tie.

We’re kind of like the Toronto Maples leafs; chalking it up to a rebuilding year. The team with the overall best Abell family performance goes to Matthew and Nathaniel’s team, missing third place by only one point. We asked one random fan why they thought their team performed best overall.

Random Fan said, “It was the coaching. Definitely the coaching. You need to appreciate how the assistant coach had nine players on the field for every shift. Wow. Can that guy ever count to 9 or what!?”

The Abell Offensive award for the year goes to Nathaniel Abell, having tallied 3 goals and four assists during the regular season. That total earned him second overall for points on his team. Game after game, he has proven to be a tenacious player who has the drive, energy and determination to work the entire field.

His offensive prowess can only be challenged by the defensive aggression of his older brother Matthew, who once again proved himself to be a fearless goaltender. His reputation as the team’s stone wall has been well deserved. Whereas most goaltenders in his level tend to wait in net until fired upon, Matthew’s signature move is to rush out to meet his opponent, knock him down and take the ball. This always brings his fans to their feet. Seeing as he is on the younger end of his age group, one might think that he would shy away from larger foes, but that has never proven to be the case.

The greatest soccer fan of the family would be Rebecca Abell. She has the audacity to even like soccer more than she likes hockey. Her love of the game and her solid work ethic make her the mainstay of her team’s defence.

Perhaps the brightest future star in the Abell family would be young Jeremy. This season has been proven to be a bit of a drought as far as scoring goes. However, in the last few games he has shown greater determination and a tremendous depth in his soccer sense. He was ready to score his first goal, just as the final whistle blew for the last game of the season. He returns next year to u-7 soccer as a seasoned veteran. Watch for him to rise once again, as he is poised to resume his goal scoring superstardom that made him such a fan favourite last season.

Thanks for following folks!

For My Newlyweds (Also Some Decent Dating Advice)

2011-08-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

I would much rather be in Calgary today, but apparently, I was needed here. A close personal friend of mine is leaving soon to pastor a church in Manitoba and today his church held kind of a farewell service in his honour. I think I needed to be there for him. I was also asked if I would return to speak in a couple of weeks. I think ghetto grandma was right. ;-)

I have however spent much of my day thinking about my friend and her wedding. As we’ve done our best to celebrate here in Port Burwell, my wife and I have been reminiscing together on our own wedding. We pulled out our wedding and honeymoon pictures and showed them to the kids. Our children thought it was quite hilarious to see that I used to have hair.

In fact, most of this weekend has been devoted to romance of one kind or another. Last evening, we watched Pride and Prejudice as a family. Much of our discussion around the home lately has revolved around courtship, marriage and affection.

Normally, when I tell stories about myself, I like to use illustrations where I play the villain. There are however some parts of my life where I remain steadfast in believing that I actually did something right. I was never the sort of guy that girls seemed to swoon over, and I’m quite thankful that I have been made that way. When I was going out with Barb, my parents used to even criticize me.

“Why don’t you do more nice things for her? You should buy her flowers or something.”

They really didn’t seem to like the response that I gave them.

“I don’t want to do things now, that I don’t think I’ll end up doing for her later on in life.”

Yeah. I could have done more for her then. There were many things that I could have changed in order to try and win the woman who had caught my affection. Of course, my parents were right from a certain point of view. Had Barb have been a different kind of woman, had she have been the kind of person who needed flowers or candle lit dinners, I might have lost her.

However, what would be worse? Would it be worse to lose such a person in the early stages? Or would it be worse to live a life of disappointment after the flowers and candle lit dinners turn into babies, diapers and mortgage payments?

If you’ve lost that girl or that guy, it might seem like the end of your world. There are worse things than losing the girl, although popular culture might beg to differ.

Proverbs 21:19

Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.

Much of what I see in North American dating is merely a romantic form of deception. We put on a good face and we do things that we really can’t do, or don’t intend to do over the long haul. So as husbands and wives, we often live in disappointment because, “He doesn’t do that for me anymore”.

“All those things that you used to do, that made me fall in love with you”

These words come from Brad Paisley’s song, Remind Me, with Carrie Underwood.

I’ve done a lot of things wrong in life, as well as in my marriage, but as Barb and I reflect on our lives together, there are few (if any) things that cause us to say, “You don’t do that for me anymore.” There are no guarantees for what tomorrow might bring for us, but as for thus far, after 15 years, it continues to get better and better.

To my young friend; congratulations on your wedding day. It can be good. It can be very good. I pray that you experience all the fullness that this relationship has to offer. The piece of paper has little to do with your actual marriage, but there are legal implications for marriage in this country. So sign it. I’m glad that you didn’t get raptured before today. Enjoy today. Enjoy tonight. ;-) Enjoy the rest of your lives. Continue to walk together in Christ. As wonderful as today has been, I pray that it is but a shadowy reflection of what lies ahead.

Love Kevin

The World at Our Doorstep

2011-07-31T17:08:00.000-07:00

Do you ever ponder the question, “What are my obligations as a believer?”

To what extent are we called to be our brother’s keeper? Some time ago, I was having a discussion with a fellow believer about our obligations to the poor. The passage we were speaking on in particular is found in Luke 16:19-31

In this piece of scripture, Jesus tells a story about a certain rich man, who lived in luxury everyday. He wore fine clothes and had plenty to eat. At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus. Lazarus lay there day after day, just hoping to get some of the rich man’s table scraps. Eventually, they both died. The poor man ended up with father Abraham, and the rich man descended down to Hades.

During our discussion, I made mention of the fact that this poor man laid at the gates of the rich man day after day, waiting for scraps. I don’t believe that we are required to change the world, but I believe firmly that we are called to meet the needs that are presented to us.

The response I got went something like this;

“Yes. But in our day, the world is so much smaller. The things that we do here can affect people around the world.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m just not able to change the whole world. If you are able to have an active presence in Honduras, Haiti, South Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia, Pakistan and India, I’m happy for you. I truly am. I for one am not able to meet the needs of every living person around the globe. Perhaps the lady was right. Perhaps we are responsible for the whole of the world. My thinking however remains the same. We’re responsible to respond to the needs that are brought before us.

That being said, when the world does show up at your doorstep, then it’s time to deal with the world. There are times when this very thing comes to pass; where needs from across the globe are brought to our very own doorstep.

It hasn’t been finalized, but it looks like my old church will be hosting an evening to try and do what they can to help some of the world’s hungriest people in Africa. It looks like it will be held on Aug 27^th at around 7:00pm. If there is any interest, I'll try and give more details later.

I won’t tell you that you’re going to hell if you don’t show up. It doesn’t quite work that way. Neither will I hold up Christ’s love for the poor as some example by which to follow. If we do absolutely nothing to respond to the needs which are brought before us, the problem isn’t our inactivity. The principle at work looks more like this:

The lives we live reveal our spiritual identity.

This is foundational to the Christian faith. Technically, we aren’t required to do anything. The question at hand should be as follows; If we have absolutely no concern for those needs which are brought before us, how can the love of God reside in us? Jesus didn’t come to show us the way or to teach us the way. He was, in Himself, the way. If we have found in Him the way to card carrying citizenship into the kingdom of God, then there will be at least something which cares. We should at least be willing to look at that sickly man, without turning the channel, closing the window or shutting the door behind us.

I don’t believe God asks us to do what we cannot do. Neither does he expect us to deal with needs which have never been brought to our attention. What He detests, is when we turn a blind eye and when we intentionally avoid looking at and responding to the needs which lie at our very own doorstep.

Another Blog about Amy Winehouse

2011-07-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

This past week, the entertainment world has lost another one of her own. We’re seldom surprised to hear news like this. Even though these kind of events have little shock value, death never fails to prompt us to ask the questions, “How could this happen? Why wasn’t something done about this?”

After looking closer at this particular story, it appears that there were people in her life who tried to address the imminent self destruction.

The conventional wisdom of our day goes something like this;

“When it’s apparent that the person can’t go a day without ‘the drug’, be it alcohol, powder or a pill, that’s when it’s time for intervention”.

I don’t know how it happens, but often, people who think like me tend to come across as being judgmental and mean for saying that a person should never walk down that road to begin with. If I were to go hardcore against drug and alcohol use, you’d write me off as being a cold hearted republican wouldn’t you?

I believe that every person has the God given right to self destruct. I also believe that they have the right to ruin the lives of those who love them in the process.

The world around us doesn’t even pretend to care until an individual is caught in the throes of addiction. How is it that I’m the mean one for saying that we should never head down that path in the first place? Could someone explain it to me? Personally, I believe that a culture which celebrates sex drugs and rock’n roll is much more hateful.

None of us live a spotless life, but is it such a bad thing to hold lift up a standard that is pure and above reproach?

I have a friend who is going through some rough times in his home life. Let’s face it. We all have issues. Since I’m one of those judgmental Christian types, I made the point of telling him, “Bobby. I know it’s tough. I just encourage you to resist the urge to ‘reach for the bottle’. You don’t want any kind of substance, be it a drug, or even food, to become that thing you turn to when life gets tough. If you want I’d be glad to have you over for supper and we could pray over you and your family.”

My friend never took me up on the offer. Maybe he thought I was trying to control him or something. I understand that in our world, lifting up a standard of holiness seems to have the appearance of a system of control. I just don’t see it that way.

As far as what should be done once a person has begun to walk down that road, I'm sure you have all the answers. Rehab works. Right?

Why It's Called "Alien Love" - Part II

2011-07-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

Last week, I had shared with you some concerns for my latest manuscript.

Had I made a target of a people who I intended to help? That was the question which plagued me for days. Was I that very messenger of damnation to a people who I hoped to help? How could I ever find out?

I don’t see homosexuals on a regular basis. The funny part is that in my life, the people who say the rudest things, the people who call them the meanest names, and the people who make the most fun at their expense are the same people who say there’s nothing wrong with practicing sodomy. Is that not ironic? Maybe it’s different in your world.

So where does one get feedback from a homosexual? There is that one guy who used to work at a restaurant. Do I just walk into his place of work and say, “Hi BillyBob. I can tell that you’re gay by the way you talk. Would you please read my book?”

Some time earlier, I heard mention of an organization called the Gay Christian Network. Up until recently, I had never heard of such a creature. I sat down one evening and e-mailed them this request;

Dear GCN;

It breaks my heart to see how many of you have been beaten down, both in the world and by the church. I don’t want to be one of those voices.

I am a Canadian author. Although I’m not writing a book on homosexuality, it does touch on the topic. Would you be willing to read the first chapter for me? I’m not a well known author, but I do have the potential to hurt those who read what I write and I really don’t want to do that.

Please don’t expect me to approve of embracing the homosexual lifestyle. What I want to know is this; Can you see the love in it? Does this address you with respect?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Love Kevin

I received a return e-mail asking to connect by phone. About one week later, I answered a call that has since consumed much of my thought life. His name is Justin Lee; the founder of GCN itself. I told him that I might not tell my friends I was talking to him. After asking “Why?”, I assured him, “Don’t worry. It’s not because you’re gay. I don’t know quite how to put this, but, unfortunately, you’re an……American.”

After hearing his laugh, I was left with the impression that he had a decent sense of humour. Or maybe he has developed thick skin. I guess that comes from being constantly told that you’re going to hell. I would hate to have to pay his phone bill, because we talked for what seemed like two or three hours.

If I were to take apart the entire conversation, I would have to write an entire book on our time together. I guess I’d have to call it, “Interview with the Homosexual”. Much of our time together was spent in sharing our own stories.

There are many realities in life which speak against our own perception. I often say that truth isn’t a thing to be fought against. Fighting against truth has a tendency to consume the whole of us, because it turns out to be an unending battle in which we ultimately find ourselves to be defeated. During our conversation, Justin shared with me a reality that I had to come to terms with myself. This is what he said,

“Kevin, when reading your chapter, I see the love in it. I really do. What you need to realize is this; most people won’t, especially within the homosexual community. So many have been hurt, that even though you are speaking in love, they won’t recognize it.”

His words really challenged me. This thing that I had written didn’t have the appearance of its nature. It was like a girl who looked like a boy. It looked like beef, and tasted like chicken. What I heard was this, “It is love, even though it doesn’t sound like love.”

Since that time, I have made a few changes to the text, not so much in the substance, but I hope to the tone of it. I have had to accept the reality that the world likely won’t embrace this thing that I have written. I have to accept that few will read it and say, “Wow. That was a great book about love!” I expect hear more responses which echo something such as, “Isn’t this supposed to be a book about love?”

As believers, we often desire to make positive change in this violent and dying world. Seldom do we experience such a difference in any tangible or measureable form. I had hoped to have written something that would inspire others towards the love of God. Instead, according to the feedback I have thus far, it’s a work which has the appearance of something else.

Something foreign.

Something alien.

Why it's Called "Alien Love" - Part 1

2011-07-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

I never venture out to be the kind of guy who activelychallenges the world around him, but somehow, on occasion, that’s exactly whatI end up doing. I prefer to live my lifethinking that I’m ‘normal’. I eat toastfor breakfast. I drive a Ford Focus towork and I fix cars for a living. Bymost standards, I always think myself as living a rather plain life; thehighlight being taking my son for a drive through the car wash.

So when I wrappedup my last manuscript, I expected little in the way of a response. In my own estimation, I thought it to be thekind of book that has already been written. I expected to hear, “That’s just like this other book about love that Iread last week.” If met with disappointment,I anticipated hearing, “I’ve heard all of this before.”

I still think as much. It isn’t ground breaking in any way. Last fall, I allowed one of my friends tohave a peek at the manuscript. Without givingaway his identity, he is someone who writes a bit himself. I value his opinion, not because he writes,but because I trust him to be on the level with me.

Whenever I speakwith him, I really should bring a tape recorder so that I can remember ourconversation in detail. These may not behis exact words, but this is what I took away from our conversation,

“After reading the first chapter, it doesn’t really soundlike a book about love. I don’t evenfeel compelled to read more.”

As we spoke further,he commented on how I brought up the practise of homosexuality. I’m very sorry if it offends you, but Ireally don’t advocate anal sexual intercourse. I think it’s dirty. (quiteliterally) He went on to ask me,

“Why would you target a people who are already a target?”

My gut response wasone of offense. I wasn’t targetinganybody. In fact, I think I’ve beengrowing a sincere love for the homosexual community more as I grow inChrist. Part of what motivates me is thethought that I might be able to help. Ihad been unjustly accused for an uncommitted crime of intent. There was no smear campaign. I wasn’t calling up my MP to ban gaymarriage. I think proctitis should beenjoyed by everyone who wants it.

It hurt. It hurt me to think that I might be hateful. It also hurt to think that I might be a voiceof torment for the very people I hoped to help. I had believed myself to have written a book which fell well within theaccepted boundaries of authentic love. My friend was telling me that it really didn’t even sound much like loveal all. What was I to do?

Missing THEM

2011-07-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

I haven’t been writing anything new for some time now. I’ve been spending the lion’s share of my time trying to refine my next book. Although much of my time is spent looking at language and punctuation, the bulk of my thought life has roamed in a separated land.

When you hear a particular song, does it ever take you back to a certain phase in your life? About three weeks ago, my ear caught on to Wherever You Will Go, by The Calling. It’s not a Christian song, but its sentiment captures a part of my life that I can’t seem to escape, even if I wanted to.

Remember That One Time, When I Did That One Thing…

If you knew me between 2000 and 2005, you might have referred to me as being a volunteer youth pastor. In many ways, I saw myself as such. I was a newer believer at the time and looking back, I had never known the love of Christ until I met THEM. I had of course loved my family and I had loved my friends. I had not, however, loved His people.

It’s difficult to explain who THEY are. I can’t call them youth; not now, and neither did I identify them as such back then. THEY are just THEM. I hope THEY know who THEY are. In my time with THEM, I had the audacity to believe that I would in some way be able to follow THEM throughout life. No matter where THEY went, I’d find a way to be there.

Over the past 3 weeks, I have had to wrestle with both reality and hope. There are many realities of this life which prove themselves to be intolerable. The intolerable reality is that I am not able to go wherever THEY go. My heart still aches when THEY are down. I still rejoice when I hear from THEM. I simply find myself incapable of being everything that my soul desperately longs to be for THEM.

The hope I cling to rests it the knowledge that God’s Spirit is at work in those who know Him, and that we share in an inheritance which is kept beyond decay and thievery.

I hope it’s okay for a Christian to be sad, because I am. I am not terribly sad. It is not that I have lost a loved one, either to the jaws of death or to a life of sin. It is a general melancholy, born out of some inconvenient truth.

I often wonder if I will ever be able to love a people the way I love THEM ever again. The first 5 years of this millennium have proven to be 5 years which seem to, at least in some way, define my life. I don’t suppose I shall ever rejoice in the fact that I am unable to go wherever THEY will go. I’m not even sure if I am supposed to be happy about this one small’ish injustice of life.

There are many aspects of my ministry that one might call into question. You may feel free to question the accuracy of my theology. You may bring my actions under scrutiny. You may accuse me of either being too legalistic or too worldly. Do not accuse me of losing my love for THEM.

If I could, then I would go wherever THEY go. If I haven’t been there for you, it isn’t because I don’t love you anymore. It’s because I really can’t.

Courage

2011-06-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, my family and I have been praying for a young boy named Jamie. Over a month ago, he won his personal battle with cancer. He is now living in glory with Jesus. His family had set up a Facebook page called Jamie’s Courage. Appropriately so.

Jamie’s father and I were friends while we were in public school together. Midway through high school we began to lose touch, and after graduating, we really didn’t see each other at all. It wasn’t until publishing my first book that I had the privilege of being reacquainted with my friend. I had brought a copy of The Edge of His Cloak to the local bookstore in the hopes that they would stock it on their shelves, only to find out that my friend was part owner of the store.

When standing back to consider the situation, it’s rather ironic. We were reunited through a book written largely about healing. He lost his son shortly thereafter.

The kind of heroes that we celebrate in our culture often wear spandex and fly around using some spectacular means. They risk life and limb without pay or recognition, often keeping their personal identity a secret. These mythical heroes are rather surreal, because these are not the type of heroes that we encounter in real life. As I survey the course of my own life, there are few on whom I would bestow the title of a true hero. Jamie would be perhaps that one exception.

I have never been known to be much of a fighter, in any sense of the word. Whenever I face a challenge, my natural instinct is to curl up into a little ball and suck my thumb. Much of life proves itself to be a battle. I often lie down in bed praying to God,

“Dear God. I’m so tired of the struggles of life. Please bring me home. Let me wake up in your presence. Just don't let it hurt.”

Granted, were I to face death head on, I might have a little fight in me. My general attitude towards life’s battles however, tends to be one of melancholic surrender.

When I was a young man, about Jamie’s age, I read my first book. In fact, it was the only book that I read of my own free will for many years. The book was called, “I Want To Go Home”, by Gordon Korman. It was about a young boy named Rudy Miller whose parents dumped him off at summer camp. He spent the bulk of his time trying to escape his summer camp prison.

I often reflect on that book, as if I saw myself in the character of Rudy. I spend much of my life feeling as if I’ve been dumped off at summer camp. Many people remember their childhood days at summer camp fondly. For my part, summer camp was perhaps one of the worst experiences of my life. Prophetic in many ways; but painful. I found myself, like Rudy, begrudgingly playing games I didn’t want to play, surrounded by other boys who seemed to be having the time of their lives.

As a man, I live within a similar analogy. I live as an alien, surrounded primarily by people who seem to feel quite at home here. If you follow me on Facebook, you likely noticed me even comment a few weeks ago saying, “I just want to go home.”

Picture the scene if you will. Imagine a 30 ish man, who frequently considers giving up on life, praying for a boy who fights for every breath. There is a peculiar dichotomy at work is there not? Why fight? Why press on? What would I do in such a place? Would I fight? Or would I accept my ticket home?

When we watch Spiderman squaring off against Dr. Octopus, we really aren’t all that concerned. We know that Spidey always comes out on top in these moves, and even if he doesn’t, he isn’t real anyway. Stories such as Spiderman or Thor really don’t challenge us all that much, because they are removed and separated from the trappings of reality.

Real life has a way of reaching our hearts in a way that fiction cannot. When we watch a young boy press in as he gazes upon death itself, the truth of it has a way of penetrating our hearts and bringing to light our own cowardice. Raw courage reveals itself not when we are unafraid, but rather when we are most fearful. Bravery is proven when it keeps fighting, even while the rest of the world has given up.

Through Jamie, I realize that it isn’t all about me. I have understood the theology of it for some time, yet the true magnitude of it generally evades my person. There are lives which intertwine themselves with mine which are worth fighting for. There are other people who need me here as long as The Lord wills it, and for their sake, it’s best that I be willing to remain in the struggle, even if it isn’t fun for me.

When I consider Jamie, I recognize my cowardly naval gazing for what it is. Jamie compels me to be a better man. Here is how I choose to honour the life that he lived. As long as I walk in the truth, I’ll fight for each breath. I’ll lean in where I’ve been tempted to fall back. I’ll forge ahead into those places where I’d rather retreat.

Laughing at Our Shame

2011-06-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

Please forgive me if I don’t share every grimy detail of my life with you. I know I have shared some pretty personal things here in blog world, but there is still room for discretion, especially on the world wide web.

This past weekend has been a time for me to reflect on some of the differences between the person I was, versus the man that I am in Christ. A close personal friend of mine recently brought up one of the more shameful moments of my life. It’s not the kind of story that I want to share with you. In her defense, the friend in question had no way of knowing that her comments would take me back to such an embarrassing time.

You see, at one point in time, my moment of shame used to be my very crown and glory. You have heard similar acts of heroism have you not? In his letter to the believers in Philippi, Paul makes mention of people whose, “god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.” Philippians 3:19

For some people, this life really is all that there is. Do you know people like that? Are you that kind of person? Were you that kind of person? Thankfully, Paul doesn’t name names. (How embarrassing would that be?) He just talks about a type of people; people whose appetites are their god. Much of their talk and thought life revolves around their gut. They are proud of the very things that bring dishonor to their name. They laugh at their own stupidity. Horrible people. The scourge of the earth.

Do you know who these people are? It’s rather strange how it all unfolded, but the very things that I used to hold up as my crowning glory have become the very things that I would like stricken from the record. It isn’t that I have turned over a new leaf or cleaned up my act. I am a new person in Christ.

I guess this is part of the reason why we’re often so resistant to God’s redemptive work and call on our lives. The things that we often view as being our greatest human achievements are the very same things that are detestable in God’s sight. I guess I’m a prude, but I really don’t like being laughed at for my own stupidity anymore. I don’t mind being ridiculed for being one of those cross-kissers. I can handle being mocked for something I know to be good, honorable and right, but it isn’t much fun to be laughed at for getting piss drunk and eating a pound of live goldfish.

(If that sounds rude, you’re quite right. That’s kind of the point. It is rude.)

As for the problem with the people that Paul is speaking on, the fact that they like watching the cooking channel really isn’t the problem. The problem is a heart problem.

You can do whatever you want. You really can. The reality however, is that our actions reveal our true character. If your actions reveal that you are a, adulterer, a drunk, a pot-head, a liar, a slanderer or a gossiper, are you fine with that? Perhaps you are fine with that. Perhaps it’s even funny, if not your own personal crown.

Its fine to be a drunk or a liar as long as we laugh isn’t it? Above the door jamb of our hunting camp, there is a sign that reads, “Hunters, fishermen and other liars gather here.” It’s the kind of sign that makes most people smile or chuckle a little bit, because we all know that fishermen love to embellish their heroic catch. As long as we can laugh at it, it’s ok.

There are different ways to brag about our personal shame. Liars sometimes pride themselves on their personal skill of being able to keep a straight face. Swindlers might tell of the way that they really scammed someone in their latest transaction. Drinking stories tend to take on the form of skill and bravery.

As for my personal shame, I’ll leave you guessing. All I’ll say is this;

It’s just not funny anymore.

Cold Feet - The Pre-Wedding Jitters

2011-06-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine is getting married in the next couple of weeks. Every once in a while he mentions that he’s getting a little bit nervous about the thought of being married. We’ve never had the time to sit down and flesh out the root of his jitters, so I’m left for the moment to speculate. Being afraid of commitment, let alone marriage is a big issue for some people. Being committed to anything, let alone in marriage, comes with obligations. Commitments always demand something of us.

I have every confidence that my friend will follow through, but it’s not uncommon for people to submit to their fears. Some of our fears are born of reality. Marriage can be tough. Sometimes they die and no matter how much one person wants to hold on, the other isn’t willing. There is always an area of uncertainty when entering into any relationship with another human being.

Unfortunately, we are a creature that often responds to fear. How else to you suppose Harold Camping has been able to draw such a following? I encourage you to think of all of the ways in which fear destroys relationships. How does fear show itself in unforgiveness? Suppose you have been wronged. What keeps you from reaching out to the person even after they have repented? Are you afraid? Do you fear that they really haven’t been changed?

Why do you lie? We tend to lie because of fear. We lie because we’re afraid of the consequences of the truth. We fear how the other person might respond if we were to be completely forthcoming.

If you are in Christ, these words of Paul apply to you;

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” 2Timothy 1:7

Paul wasn’t speaking within the context of marriage. He was encouraging Timothy to be bold as a witness for Christ. The principle however applies to every facet of our life, including our relationships. Paul describes fear as a ‘spirit’. When we submit to that spirit, it tends to produce destructive fruit. Fear breeds mistrust, separation and even animosity.

In marriage, if we live out a life of fear, we really don’t give everything that the relationship deserves. We hold back. It even goes so far as to affect the tone and our posture towards the other person. The more we hold back, the more the relationship suffers. Christian marriage isn’t a partnership. We are called to become one flesh, even so much as the body of the one belongs to the other.

Don’t you DARE use that as an excuse to be domineering or abusive.

If you live in fear, can you possibly completely surrender to the other? Can unity exist where fear is the motivating spirit?

If you are among those who have those before marriage jitters, I encourage you to take heart from an old school friend of mine. He was kind of nervous himself. He took comfort in this thought,

“At least it’s not forever. It’s only until one of us dies.”

I know. It doesn’t melt your heart like a well crafted Disney moment.

There are no guarantees. However, marriage can be good. It can be amazing. Don’t let your personal insecurities ruin something that has the potential be the second most important relationship of your life. (Next to Jesus.)

Introduction :Alien Love

2011-05-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

What This Is (and Is Not)

Hello. My name is Kevin Abell. You probably gathered that after reading the name on the front cover. Before you dive in to this book about love, there are some things that I would like to share with you. I want to do this in order to make sure that you aren’t being set up for disappointment. You might end up feeling let down regardless, but I can’t stand the thought of you continuing on in search of something that isn’t here.

I don’t know why you read books. Out of the few books that I have read, many seem to be little more than long essays. They are designed in order to try and reveal some grave injustice at work in the world and show us the way to address it. Some books are written as a call to arms or to advocate a course of action. Others are informative. This work is none of the above.

If you are looking at this for information, you will probably become disenchanted. To be completely forthcoming, this book is no more about love than my last book was about healing. My last book had the appearance of a book about healing, and that’s exactly how many people received it. At the heart of this work, as well as my last, is a signpost which is meant to move us towards Jesus.

What you are holding in your hands is this; A Journey. A journey is much different than an essay. An essay is written by someone who believes that they know enough about a topic in order to inform and convince you of their thesis. I beg you not to proceed in this way because I know how disappointing it can be when you purchase a product that doesn’t do what you thought it was supposed to do.

Before you read further, please address this question. Are you willing to set out on a journey? If you aren’t, if you are expecting this to go in a certain direction, either to the right or to the left, you won’t likely find what you are looking for.

On The Word Love Itself

Whether by design, or poor recognition, authentic love has become an elusive phenomenon. It is a word that we use to describe our affection for everything from iced cream to our boyfriend. It seems to be something that we both receive as well as something that can be made. I don’t know how it got this way. Overall, love is a word which is unable to capture all that it was intended to describe. It carries with itself so much baggage that we really don’t know what to do with it.

Whenever a person speaks on love, it’s always difficult to know exactly what they mean. We tend to confuse it with human sexuality and romance. The word might be in reference to affection. It is often used to describe acts of kindness.

I don’t know exactly who has the power to make up words, nor do I know who authenticates the decision. I do know that the word was destined for failure. If you are reading through the Bible, depending on whether you are reading through a text which has been written in Greek or Hebrew, there are approximately 20 different words that might form the foundation for what is written on the page before you.

Left Behind

2011-05-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

If you are among the many people that have been deceived by Harold Camping this past weekend, I want you to know that my heart goes out to you this morning. This is the first day that you had planned to spend in glory with Jesus. No doubt you have found yourself here on this side of life, facing at least some amount of disappointment.

Many of you have left your homes, families and jobs because you believed in your heart of hearts that Jesus was coming back for you yesterday. I can’t even pretend to know how you feel in your heart. Nobody can bring your sincerity into question. Neither can we place your devotion to Jesus into question, having forsaken all. I can’t begin to imagine the disappointment that you face.

Please know that Jesus isn’t the one who let you down. If you’ve suffered financial loss and public humiliation in front of your family and co-workers, it doesn’t have to be in vain. Jesus is still coming back for you. It just wasn’t yesterday. You have in Christ the opportunity to rise from the ashes, if you are able to see the situation for what it is, and cling to the Saviour whom you have so eagerly been waiting for.

Sure. Harold’s got your money. Much of it has been spent on billboards around the country. It doesn’t have to happen again. As for the final days, Jesus Himself told us, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Matthew 24:36.

Jesus Himself didn’t even know the exact time that the Son of Man would return. So the next time someone claims to know more than Jesus, I pray that you will be the wiser. Please don’t allow this great disappointment to be a dark shadow which allows itself to loom over the rest of your life. Let today be a day where you, having waited so expectantly, would receive Him in humility. You can meet Jesus today on your knees in the brokenness of faith and considering the brevity of life, don’t worry, you’ll meet Him soon enough.

Fire and Brimstone

2011-05-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, in my line of work, we’re tempted to lie. I’m sure that you have never been tempted to do so in your career. There are different reasons why people lie. Much of the time, lies are told because the truth at hand won’t be well received. Whether in the medical field, the automotive trade, or any area of life, reality tends to be a rather cold, hard dish.

Let’s face it. How many people like hearing bad news? Few that I know of. The obstacle for us at The Mufflerman, is we are about the business of dealing with other people’s problems. Almost nobody comes to us because they are having a good day. Therefore, the news that we have to break to our customers is usually bad. Out of this situation often arises the temptation to try and put a positive spin on the matter at hand.

Plain truth often proves itself to be unpalatable.

I don’t talk about hell all that often, but every so often I come in contact with someone who believes that the horror of it is just too great to accept. Perhaps your world is constantly filled with sunshine and rainbows, so I understand if your observations about life are quite different than mine.

Life tends to be tough. How on earth can we expect that there would be no unpleasant realities to be faced after this life?

Who Voted For This?

2011-05-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, I remember my dad saying on several occasions, "It's funny how the Conservatives have won back to back governments, but I don't know anyone who voted for them". Now I'm seeing a new generation saying the same old things. Who allows these unknown vagrants to vote their conscience?

I often wonder exactly who Jesus would vote for if He had a vote, although I don’t believe that we can obtain a precise answer to that question. I believe he would cast a ballot, out of his, ‘Give to Caesar…’ comment. Again, not saying that he definitely would, only that it’s a probability in my opinion.

Even though God’s kingdom is not of this world, He does care a great deal about the leadership of our world. In the Old Testament, we find two books devoted to sharing the details of political leadership in Israel. You can find them in 1st and 2nd Kings. In The New Testament, we’re told to pray for our leaders.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (New International Version, ©2011)
1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

I don’t know if Jesus voted for the Conservative Government. They certainly do embody at least some of what He would stand for, but there are other parties that are more focused on His concern for the poor. What we do know for sure is that God wants all people to be able to “live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Whether you like the shape of our government or not, I believe we are still afforded the privilege of living peaceful and quiet lives. I believe that we still have the privilege of growing more and more like Christ. I guess if you want to live apart from Christ, you can do that too. I won’t stop you. There’s always room for one more in the pit.

When I woke up this morning, my mind was in a whirl as it thought over the events of last night’s May 2 election. There are things that I liked and things that I didn’t like. I saw Facebook status updates from friends who felt quite defeated. Perhaps you found yourself in a similar spot. What really got me grounded this morning was the time I spent in the word looking at the political landscape in Joseph’s day. It reminded me, that there are worse things. There are worse things than a right leaning government in a left leaning country. There are worse things than having a socialist government.

The people of Egypt had suffered from years of famine. They had used up their own reserves, spending all of their money buying food from the government and given away all of their livestock.

Genesis 47:18-19 (New Living Translation)
18 But that year ended, and the next year they came again and said, “We cannot hide the truth from you, my lord. Our money is gone, and all our livestock and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we offer our land and ourselves as slaves for Pharaoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty and desolate.”

There are things that each of us don’t like about certain types of governance. Capitalists can’t stand the notion of communism. Liberal minded people don’t like the thoughts of living under conservative rule. Here in Egypt, the people willingly handed themselves over as servants to the government; selling their very bodies along with their land.

For me, it’s a picture of the worst kind of slave/communism. In North America, we have a very strong aversion to slavery. However, given the choice between selling themselves and death, servant hood wasn’t such a bad idea. How fortunate we are that our choices aren’t nearly as severe.

What do you think? Are there worse things than slavery? Are there worse things than a Conservative majority government? Are there worse problems than having a polarized electorate? Are there worse things than losing your seat? I believe there are.

In Christ, these tiny political games are but a temporarily necessary
diversion. Somebody has to do the job of leading this country and I’m thankful for the men and women who have stepped up to the role. I’m thankful that they are filling those necessary roles, because they give us the opportunity to live peaceful and quiet lives as we move towards godliness and holiness in Christ.

Congratulations Stephen Harper on your win. I pray that you will lead as a man after God's own heart. Congratulations Jack Layton. I hope that you fill the office of official complainer to the best of your ability. (No. That isn’t a shot at you. It’s what the opposition is supposed to do.) I feel for you Mr. Ignatieff. You seemed to do the best you could. Thank you for demonstrating your humanity last evening. Congratulations Elizabeth May. NOW I’ll be happy to watch you in the leader’s debates. As for Mr. Duceppe, I am sad for your loss.

It's Not Rocket Appliances

2011-05-01T17:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Bob, Brett, Ben (Or whatever I have been calling you.)

I want you to know how much I appreciate your place in my life. Having your respect is one of the things that keep me motivated about my faith. We have been friends for some time haven’t we? Although we don’t get to see each other as much as we used to, I rest confidently in the knowledge that you have chosen to take on the same kind of work which beckons me. It pleases me to be able to call you my fellow worker in Christ.

I often wonder why you haven’t gotten tired of me yet. Most people do. It doesn’t take long before people realize that I remain grounded in the simple basics of the Christian faith. Few have the patience to walk with a person who seems to teach the same life lessons over and over. So I continue to thank you, and will continue to do so as long as I have the breath of life.

The Basics Are Profound
The basic truths we have in Jesus are the very foundation to every facet of life. Wonderful Christian men and women write many wonderful books on the many important areas of our walk. If you stand back and look at them for what they are, many of them are the same books, teaching the same principles merely having different applications. The same principles at work in ministry apply as much or more to parenting, as they do to marriage, as they do to our role in the workplace and so on. There is no aspect of our lives which the basics of the gospel do not apply.

The basics might sound something like this…
God sent Jesus in order to make us right with Himself.
Those who accept His gift by believing in Christ are justified by faith.
The Holy Spirit indwells all who have come to and remain in Christ.

Whether we’re talking about parenting, marriage or work ethic, it really has very little to do with adhering to what might be referred to as Christian principles. We don’t follow the ethical Jesus, the moral Jesus or the benevolent Jesus. We follow the living Jesus. That’s why, when we read the scriptures, it doesn’t sound like the Yahoo! News Feed. Paul never writes a headline, “5 Steps To A Healthy Marriage.”

Very few people are accustomed to speaking in spiritual terms. That’s why Yahoo and MSN writers need to pen their words using fleshly lingo. So we read articles that speak on the necessity of communication. We eat up books that talk about sex and the need to have fun together. Just do ‘these things’, because these are the things that happy couples do.

Up until now, I have given you very little in the way of advice, but more to do with some conversations which should take place. As for advice, here is the best I have;

Live a life which allows itself to be led by The Holy Spirit.

I’m not talking about anything freaky. I don’t really care whether or not you can speak in tongues, raise the dead or drink snake venom. I’m talking about living out a literal relationship with God the Father, through Jesus Christ, which has been sealed by The Holy Spirit. These bare bones are the very solid foundation of a life, work, ministry, marriage – WHATEVER, which is built on the rock of Christ.

The Prophecy
Please consider the very work which The Holy Spirit was promised to do.

Ezekiel 11:19 (New Living Translation)
19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart,

I question whether or not Ezekiel had any idea of what he was actually talking about. We have the benefit of looking back in history though the spectacles of the New Testament. This passage speaks within the context of Israel’s restoration. God promises at some future date, to put a new spirit into His people. This same spirit is available to all, indwelling those who have received Christ by faith; The Holy Spirit.

Without me walking through the passage exhaustively (which you are more than able to do for yourself), just take the time to read the passage and think on the implications for a marriage between two people who are completely led by the Spirit. Can it happen?

What would a marriage look like where the couple literally possessed this spiritual singleness of heart? What would their relationship look like if both of their hearts were consistently tender and responsive towards one another?

Part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to soften our hard, stony hearts. In order for a marriage to fail, at least one person’s heart has to turn hard towards the other. I may be wrong, but I can’t think of any failed marriages where both people were soft, tender and responsive towards the other. It might be possible, but it certainly would be a rarity.

There have been times in my marriage where I was tempted to allow my heart to harden. We weren’t arguing. There were no huge issues, but there were times, especially in the early years, where I’d get in a tiff and tell myself, “I’m not going to be affectionate to her anymore.” If I were to stay in that hard hearted state, where do you suppose it would lead?

We need to be able and willing; Able to hear God’s call when he tells us, “Hey. You’re being hard. Stubborn. Obstinate. Cold”; Willing to be softened by His Spirit.

I know you understand these truths, because I’ve heard you speak on these very things. As people, scripture often pictures us as if we are plants, producing fruit out of our nature. I encourage you to think of the people you know who live lives which are led by the Spirit. Think of the people you know who are loving, patient, kind, good and faithful. Your relationship with them is likely much different than it is with those who are characterized by jealousy, slander and gossip.

Remember, there are no guarantees, even if you hold up your end. You are not able to hold it together if the other person chooses to walk away. I hope you never have to face such a scenario. Even if this relationship comes to its conclusion, living a Holy Spirit led life is NEVER a mistake.

Loving the Pedophile

2011-04-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Last evening, I asked this question. I rarely get answers for my questions. I’m ok with it because I don’t answer other blogger’s questions either. (Well, except that one girl, but she seemed like she really wanted an answer.)

“How would you choose to demonstrate authentic love towards an unrepentant child molester?”

Depending on your perception of what love is, you might believe me to be rather heartless. I have never personally known a child molester, but I did try to walk with a man named Sid who had a strong affinity for young boys. He’s had previous run ins with the law after exposing himself.

I don’t see him much anymore, but if I were ever to find that he was actually molesting children on an ongoing basis, I’d probably have him locked up. No. I don’t hate him. I really don’t. When I consider the various conversations I have had with this young man, he is burdened beneath an unimaginable burden of guilt, sin and shame. If I really love him, how could I possibly allow him to be burdened any further?

During that time, once in a while I would have a conversation with people who looked down on parents who try to protect their children. On one occasion, I asked such a man whether or not he would allow a pedophile into his home to play with his kids. I didn’t get a response. As I walked in Christian circles, I often felt guilty for not inviting Sid over for Christmas dinner, or making the effort to get him a ride to church. I'm sure he would have been willing to help with Sunday School.

I didn’t show my love to Sid by bringing him to church or inviting him into my home to play with my kids. I demonstrated my love for Sid by going ‘outside of the camp’ to where he was. I spent time with him on my own. Time after time I told him that he simply cannot indulge in his particular sexual desires. Does that not sound hateful? I did my personal best to tell him about Jesus. In prayer, I even began to pray the ‘sinners prayer’, until we got to the part where we thanked Jesus for dying for our sins. It was at this point when he told me, “I don’t really believe that He paid for my sins.” So we stopped there.

I still make myself available to Sid. When he calls, I answer. Our schedules haven’t lined up for some time, but I’m ready if they ever do. I’m still prepared to dial 911 if I find out he’s hurt some poor child. I give him money when he’s broke. Lord willing, I hope I can remember his birthday this year.

I’m no scholar, but in my mind, smiling at a life of sin is just another form of hatred.

That is how I choose to demonstrate love to Sid.

In Christian circles, we talk about throwing open the doors of church. Are there no limits to that philosophy?

Are You Ready to Love?

2011-04-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

Question. This is in regards to the topic of my second manuscript. I was thinking of placing discussion questions at the end of each chapter. How about this one?

"How would you choose to demonstrate authentic love towards an unrepentant child molester?"

You're right. If I pose questions like that, this one won't even do as well as my last effort. Have a good night. Remember, axe murderers need love too!

Grow Up.

2011-04-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

More For My Friend Who is in a ‘Relationship’

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”
1Corinthians 13:11

This portion of Scripture wasn’t written within the context of marriage, but there is something at work here in Paul’s words that weigh in on some of life’s most precious relationships. No doubt you have realized that high school is over. You aren’t a kid anymore. Unfortunately, just because we’ve lived beyond our puberty years, doesn’t mean that we have actually grown up to the point where we are able to hold up our own end of a married relationship.

It isn’t that we aren’t allowed to have fun anymore. There is a place for fun. There is also a place for being child-like, even as a believer in Christ. In fact, Jesus Himself said, “the kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Matthew 19:14

There are aspects of being a child that we need to hang on to as believers. There are others however that need to go and Paul mentions 3 of them. 1 Our Speech, 2 Our thinking, and 3 Our reasoning.

Most of the time, popular culture portrays men as little more than grown up babies. Unfortunately, many of us deserve the caricature. It’s pretty tough to make a list or a summary of the thoughts and attitudes that we need to let go of. Perhaps if you rent the American Pie dvd’s you might get an idea of what childish behavior looks like. No. I’m really not recommending it.

As you press on towards marriage, perhaps a good question to address both individually and as a couple might be this;

“In what ways do each of you need to grow up?”

As for me, I’m still growing up. There are times that I really don’t want to do what I know needs to be done. I’d rather spend some time with my own entertainment than to have a go at the honey do list that my wife has made up. The baby in me wants to cry and whine about it, but the man should be ready to take personal responsibility for his own tasks.

Invariably, if you are going to be joined as one, there will be some things that have to go. How selfish are you? To what extent are each of you willing to put the needs of the other first? Christian marriage isn’t a partnership. The two have to function as one. In order for that to actually happen, the both of you will have to function as if you are one person. It won’t work so long as each or either of you wants to continue living the teenaged dream.

It is a very sad thing to see grown men and women who really haven't grown up. People who hide when it's time to take action. People who run when it's time to stand. People who turn to the drug instead of standing tall. People who shop when it's time to save. I don't want those phrases to describe me. If you are the person I remember, then neither do you.

Love Kevin

What's Your Body For?

2011-04-17T16:19:00.000-07:00

When we receive Christ and The Holy Spirit comes to live in us. If that has happened in you, there are ramifications.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

In his first letter to the believers in Corinth, Paul asks them whether or not they are aware of this spiritual truth. He asks them whether or not they realize that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. If we think on it literally and try to discern the physical mechanics of what is happening here, it could blow our minds. We’re talking about the God of creation, the One whom the heavens cannot contain, and the God who is bigger than the universe itself. If you have received Him, He has taken up residence in your body. That temporary tent that you are living in has become the very house of God.

Don’t you realize that your body is God’s house? You have been bought and paid for as someone buys and pays for a home. For those of us who have received Him, we have likewise been bought and paid for, not with cash, but by the precious life blood of the only begotten Son of God. You really don’t belong to yourself anymore. Your life is no longer your life.

Although I’m speaking in terms of home ownership, the implications for our lives go much deeper. We were slaves; purchased from the slave market of sin, bought for the purchase price of God’s own Son. Jesus was the original humanitarian philanthropist, making His home in us where we were, as we were, rather than merely having us move into His house.

I suppose if you have never really believed on the Son, this really wouldn’t apply to you. Your life is your life. I guess instead of being a temple, your body might be more accurately described as an amusement park. If you have a better way of describing it, I’d love to hear it. As for me, before I knew Christ, that’s what my body was for. My life was my life and I used my body in a way that would bring me pleasure. If I wanted to drink, I drank. If I wanted to watch something, I watched it. If it felt good, I likely did it. I don’t want you to write me off as being a completely pleasure seeking individual. I had, as most people do, some sense of morality and societal obligation. However, in the truest sense of the word, I was my own boss. I expected the world to revolve around me and I spent the bulk of my efforts trying to run my own universe in the way I saw fit.

Have you been bought with a price? What is your body exactly? Perhaps your body is part temple and part amusement park. Can that be? If you have been purchased from the slave market of sin, what now? Is this salvation experience all that there is? Is Jesus nothing more than a destination, or some kind of theme park entry fee, where once paid, we’re at liberty to do whatever pleases us?

What is your body to you? It might be the temple of the Holy Spirit. It could be your version of Disney World. I have no idea. You would have to tell me. Could it be some combination of the two? Perhaps it is a part temple and part theme park. It might be used as a temple on Sunday, and a brothel for Monday through Saturday.

Having the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit is not the final destination of the Christian faith. It is the beginning of a new life under new management. To live otherwise would be like to having gotten off with a warning from a police officer, only to continue speeding again. Realizing the way in which God loved us and having received the love of God, our life’s story has not come to its conclusion. Suppose you find yourself in just such a place. You have realized who He is, who you are in His sight, and you have received Him. What now? Having received Him, our response is to remain in Him.

It's Your Dad's Fault That You Turned out This Way.

2011-04-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

There are many ways in which the love of God is lived out in those who receive Him. You hear of missionaries who leave their comfortable homes, only to live in some remote region of Africa, eating bugs and slime because they have a heart for the people there. Some believers bring homeless people into their homes. It’s common for churches to do their part in stocking the shelves of the local food bank. When I lost my job 10 years ago, some anonymous people from church helped my wife and I by giving us $1,500 to try and make a new start.

If you walk in Christian circles for any length of time, you might run into people who leave their ‘secular’ jobs for positions in ministry which pay significantly less. You might get to know believers who intentionally move to a poorer part of town in order to be better placed to help the disadvantaged. You may cross paths with people who take orphans into their home, work with the homeless or walk alongside of people who struggle with addictions of various forms. There isn’t a cookie cutter mould, but these are some of the ways that love pours itself out of those who have received the Spirit of Christ.

If I ever write another book on this subject, I’ll likely write about these and many other ways in which the love of God expresses itself through His people. Love is patient, so it’s not uncommon to find believers who are waiting on God or waiting for marriage. Love is kind, so you find many charities and organizations which have strong Christian roots. Perhaps you have heard of World Vision, or Compassion.

For this book and for this chapter, I want to look at one characteristic of love in particular and how it demonstrated itself in the life of someone that I know. We’re told in 1Corinthians 12 that love keeps no record of wrongs, and I have been blessed to see that aspect of love demonstrated in the life of a close friend of mine. His name is Manuel. As you picture Manuel, imagine some tall, dark, dashing Spaniard, fast enough to run with the bulls.

Among the general population, Manuel could easily justify living a life of bitterness and resentment more than most. Although I have the privilege of knowing him, I have a difficult time envisioning the kind of childhood that he endured. I don’t have a list of Manuel’s sins and neither would I want to. For whatever he did and did not do as a child, Manuel had been labelled as the, “bad child”. As if it wasn’t enough to be labelled as such, he was also known as the “not so bright” child of the family. ‘Bad and dumb.’ Those were the labels pasted upon Manuel by his own family and peers.

Everyone is known for something I suppose. If we’re made to feel bad and dumb often enough, I guess that is what we become. Perhaps that is why Manuel kept the label. In fact, living up to the label seemed to be the only way he could get any sort of attention from his family. On most days, nobody really payed any attention to him at all. If on the other hand, he did something bad or did poorly in school, that would be noticed. Yet, it wasn’t the type of attention that we would consider to be positive.

Manuel’s mom was often the disciplinarian of the family. When he would act badly or perform poorly in school, she gave him attention. The attention he received generally came in the form of chastisement. When disciplining him, she would beat him down with any object she could find. His mom would continue assaulting him until she was simply too exhausted to continue. After beating him beyond her physical ability, she would often lock him in his room for hours.

One would hope that school would provide some respite from the violence; some pause or intermission from the pain. Rather than being a resting place from the conflict at home, it proved to be an extension for more of the same. Living in a predominantly white community, Manuel was constantly tormented because of his racial distinction. For Manuel, English was a second language. For him, it was a new language, which made it difficult to progress at the rate of his schoolmates. He was known as the ‘not so bright’ one both at home, and at school.

That was life. Could anyone blame Manuel if he were to live a life defined by bitterness and resentment? Would it astound anyone if family reunions and Christmas were a time of difficulty? What do you say to the mom who did that to you? How do you draw close to a father who took part himself, if only to allow it to happen? What is it like to get together with a brother or sister who is known to be better and smarter than you are? How can a young man learn to reconcile the past and to recognize the lies for what they were?

Manuel was a young man when He encountered the living person of Jesus Christ for himself. He had received forgiveness for his sins by the One who had freely paid for them with His own blood on the cross of Calvary. Over time, Manuel began to realize the lies for what they were. He came to realize that he wasn’t dumb. Of course English was harder for him than for those who were raised with it, but he wasn’t unintelligent. He wasn’t the bad kid. We are all on a level playing field, we’re all sinners, in need of God’s precious grace.

Manuel had been forgiven and was made right with the One who is above all – God Himself. He had experienced the freedom and the love of God, made real in his heart. Manuel knew that this new life had implications which extended beyond his standing before God. He knew that his relationship with Christ was intended to impact not only his own life, but was meant to have its affect on his family life. As Manuel tells his story, he shares it in this way, “The more I learned about Jesus and having that relationship with Him motivated me to want that with my family.”

How do you do that? Where does one find the strength? Can you put yourself in his shoes? Having encountered Christ for himself, Manuel could no longer progress through life as a victim. He knew that he actually played his own part in the injustice that took place in his home. He had sinned against his family and wanted to confront it for what it was. Having been forgiven by God himself, he also wanted to extend that same forgiveness to the very people who had hurt him the most.

Rather than continuing to live out a crippled and embittered life, Manuel prayed through his fear, remaining focussed on the revealed Word of God. Many people are absolutely scared to death to admit that they are wrong in any capacity. Pride tends to be a tough meal to swallow. Others feel they have been beaten too badly to extend forgiveness to those that have wronged them. By the love, grace and power of God – Manuel did just that.

Manuel chose to use the gift that had been given to him. If you ever meet this tall, dark, dashing Spaniard, I hope that you take the time to know him well enough to hear his story. He likely won’t share it with the whole world, for the sake of the identity of those involved. Life isn’t completely perfect for Manuel. He still has his obstacles to overcome, but by God’s grace, He will overcome, just as he has in the past.

Having received the love of God, Manuel came to understand the intention of that gift. The gift was meant for more than just his own personal edification. That love was meant to be extended to the people in his house. For him, those people actually used to live in the very same house. Today, Manuel has a family of his own. God’s purpose for him now includes, but is not limited exclusively to the people in his literal household. Manuel has been reconciled to God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. That reconciliation was also meant to be extended to the people in his life.

The Cure for Loneliness?

2011-04-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

"If your suffering is a burden, reach out to ease that of someone else and bring hope to them. . . . Offer compassion when you need it. Be a friend when you need friendship. Give hope when you most need it." --Nick Vujicic, Life Without Limits

I took this quote from the Facebook status of one of my friends. I have often thought these thoughts but have never been able to articulate them so clearly. I often wonder what the world would look like if we all lived with this mindset.

Is this how the world works? I don’t think so. I have often suffered from bouts of loneliness, but in my loneliness, I tended to think that it was the responsibility of someone else to reach out to me. I rarely considered the possibility that my condition might have been purposed to compel me towards others.

It took some time to be willing to invest myself into the lives of others, but by God’s grace, I have begun to do just that. I am blessed to be surrounded by many amazing people who are willing to confront me in love, uphold me in prayer and lean on me in their own need.

I now live out a very different injustice. I now tend to look at my life as if I’m a spiritual super hero. Now that I have escaped the loneliness, I often look at my role as this obscure caped crusader, being that guy who has it together, who is willing to help others put it together. The injustice is barely recognizable, because it has the appearance of nobility; the arrogance of it barely distinguishable.

It’s much easier to claim victim status that to do something about it. Isn’t it? If the lonely reach out to the lonely, will either be lonely any longer?

Q & A - Why Are Men So Angry?

2011-04-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Kev!

Came across a blog that said that the #1 problem that comes out in male support groups is that of anger or rage. The big remedy is anger management of course, but is it working? Is that what is needed? Is anger management even biblical?

My second question to you two guys is this: "Why?" Why are men so angry these days? What is at the root of this anger do you think? I have a few ideas but I would love to get your input when you have the time to think it through and respond to me.
Tom

Dear Tom;

Well, we're living in a land that is walking away from God. That means there are fewer and fewer people who are indwelt by the Spirit of Christ. Not that all Christians were aver accused of being led by the Spirit, but if the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness......what can we expect to replace it?

Anger isn't the problem. Spiritual banckruptcy is the problem.

Or maybe I'm wrong. Let me know if anger management fixes it.

Love Kevin

I've Got a Girl, and She's Got a Guy

2011-04-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Every so often, I receive an e-mail that blesses my socks off. Really. I’m not wearing any. I had an old friend write me updating me on his life. He had a lot wonderful things to share. I’d fill you in on some of the details of his life, but some of you might figure it out. There are approximately 4 people who read this blog (one of whom lives in Russia) so I don’t want all 4 of them knowing who I’m talking about.

In short, he has a girl. She likes him. He likes her. She probably smells nice. He looks good in his dark sunglasses. They are considering planning their lives together. After sharing some very encouraging news about the direction of his life, he asked me...

“I do not really know questions to ask, because this really is the first adult relationship I have ever been in. In fact one thing that we think could be helpful, is asking you what types of things should we be talking about (I know vague, but it really is one of the only questions I have)”

If I’m going to ruin their lives, I might as well do it in public. Who knows? Maybe it can bless you in the process.

It’s wonderful to hear from you Ned!

It’s funny. I was reading through some of Barb’s love letters from University. I wouldn’t recommend saying the same things that we used to say to each other…..

“I’ll make you pies. I’ll make you cookies and cakes. I’ll be a good wife. I’ll try my hardest anyway.”

Good times.

Maybe you don’t need to make pies or cakes.

Thank you so much for you question. It’s an awesome privilege that I would come to mind as you consider what could become one of the greatest relationships on this side of heaven. I’m glad to hear that you have found someone and I look forward to meeting her someday. What should you be talking about as you plan your lives together?

The first thing that comes to mind has little to do with a conversation, but more to do with what you are thinking about. I’m going to give you a question. You don’t have to tell me, but I encourage you to seriously consider it for yourself.

Something To Think About

Is there anything about her that you hope will change?

If you are anything like me, your first response will be, “Of course not. I love her just the way she is.” If that’s the first thing that comes to your mind, please don’t dismiss the question just yet. Dig deep if you have to. Are there things that maybe you aren’t quite fine with, that you are hoping will fall by the wayside as life moves along?

I trust that you are with a woman of noble character, but are there things that she does that you really aren’t fine with? A friend of mine from high school has a girlfriend who likes to go out drinking with her guy friends. My friend says that he’s fine with it. He even tells me that he doesn’t think there is anything wrong with it. However, I question how honest he is being about it. I wonder if he’ll really be fine with watching the kids while she spends the night on the town with her boyfriends down the road. He tells me, “There’s nothing wrong with it.”, but I know they argue over it from time to time, even though he’s fine with it.

As you walk through life, no doubt you will come across similar scenarios, if you haven’t already. Again, the things that are coming to mind likely don’t happen in a literal sense in your relationship, but maybe these thoughts might trigger something else that may need to be addressed head on.

Have you ever known a wife who didn’t like her husband charging up his credit card with alcohol, or stumbling in late at night? The ironic part being that those were the same kinds of things that he did when they met. Sometimes, the things that are cute or tolerable when you’re dating, are the very things that drive men and women apart once the romance has worn off.

I haven’t met this young woman, but I doubt that you would fall for a lush. I just encourage you to be brutally honest with yourself and to address anything now, rather than to expect her to change down the road.

Change is a funny thing. It’s a word that is generally used in reference to what somebody else should be doing. It is a word that is often coined when an electoral candidate is trying to unseat the incumbent. For the most part, people really don’t change. In fact, we tend to resent those who are push us towards what I would refer to as upward change.

So often I hear stories from husbands who are resentful that their wives are trying to change them, whether it’s in context of their diet, their recreation or even their own personal hygiene. Some people do end up changing for the better, and by God’s grace, I’m really not the same man that Barb married. Fortunately, she loves the man that I am as much or more than the man that I was.

Please don’t press into your future assuming that the other person will change or grow out of anything.

Something to Talk About

As for the conversations that you should be having;

Talk about your expectations in life.

What do you really expect out of life? What about kids? Where do you want to live? If you are mobile, ready to go anywhere life takes you, is she? Expectations do change and often, life does fail to meet our expectations, but if both of you are seeking very different things in life and really have little intention of yielding to the other, it’s going to be tough. How does each of you handle your money? Are you really prepared to be joined as one? How mobile are each of you? Does one of you have the vision of living in Africa? Is one of you firmly rooted here in Canada? If one of you has roots and one of you has wings, how will that affect your lives together?

If you fly away, will the one with roots be able to find new roots in new soil? If you remain planted, will the one with wings feel like they’ve missed out on life? What are your visions for life, and can those visions be reconciled over the long term?

Suppose one of you loves to shop. How will the other feel if the bank account is constantly in overdraft? As I recall, you seemed to be fairly level headed, but what if both of you love to spend? Money isn’t supposed to be all important, but poverty leaves a lot to be desired. If one of you is strong and one is weak, can the one who is weak entrust the other with the purse strings?

How can each of you deal with unmet expectations? Life WILL throw you curve balls. If you plan to have one child, what happens if you end up with twins? Not that it ever happens. :-)

Those are just a few conversation starters. I also encourage you to take time for the silly romantic talk. “I love you. I miss you. I’ll make you pies and cakes. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You give me that queasy feeling in my stomach.”

It’s ok to enjoy each other and simply revel in the newness of your relationship. I hope that you are enjoying this time together. Call each other cute names.

If your relationship is already becoming a case study on conflict resolution, I’d question the venture. Conflicts will come and I know that by God’s grace you can overcome, but at this stage in the game, I’d be concerned if it already feels like an ongoing battle. I doubt that’s the case with you. As I say that, I’m thinking back to a friend in university who was in just such a situation. She was planning on getting married anyway because, “That’s what people do after university.” Fortunately, she dropped the guy and married Mr. Right.

Thank you so much for updating me on your life. I know that the spiritual dimension is lacking in this letter, but this is all you get for the moment. I’m into the third page and I’m ready for bed. If this helps and you’d like more, you know where to find me.

I miss you old friend. If you never hear from me again, I want you to know that I am pleased with the life that you are living as well as the way that you seem to be living out your calling.

Keep the faith!

Love Kevin

Introduction - Chapter 6 Receiving The Gift

2011-04-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

Chapter 6 – Receiving Love
I can still see her gift, lying crumpled up in the bottom of the bathroom waste basket. I even envision the tiny single bathroom in that old grey tar papered farm house. The walls were light blue as was the porcelain bowl by which the basket sat. This basket had turned out to be the final resting place for what was intended to be my Christmas present.
For those of you who have had small children, you might be able to picture the enthusiasm with which my little sister took on her endeavour. Children often do that kind of thing for the people in their lives. She was about five years old at the time, and as such found herself without the resources or the means with which to purchase anything for me. Still, for some reason that eludes me, she valued my place in her life enough to take the time and make me something.
Have you ever watched or helped a child make a gift for someone they love? I wasn’t there to help her in her creation but I imagine that lovely dark haired young lady sitting at the family kitchen table, or perhaps on the living room floor; her crayons and craft materials lying scattered before her. Carefully and thoughtfully, she would choose her favourite colours and stickers. There might have been a set of googly eyes in the top corner. Those are always pretty cool. I’ve used the googly eye craft stickers on many occasions myself.
“Mom. What do you think? Do you think Kevin will like this?”
“That’s wonderful dear. I’m sure your brother will like it very much.”
With the finished product in hand, it was time to package it. How should a little girl wrap such a gift? Should she put it in a box? No. Of course not. This present wasn’t meant for a box. This was the kind of present that deserved to be packaged all on its own. With great care, she rolled it into a small cylinder, picking out a special piece of light bluish green wrapping paper. How should one finish off such a gift? What else? The ends were carefully tied together with two pieces of light pink yarn.
Brothers and sister do often find themselves at odds with one another. Sometimes the issues that divide us from the people that we love are serious. They are things that need to be dealt with where one individual really does need to take a stand against the other. Much of the time, the issues that set us apart are not so. We find ourselves squabbling over issues that really aren’t all that significant. In married relationships, I hear about wives who get upset that their husbands want to spend time with or sleep with them. I hear of husbands who get upset that their wives actually want to talk or ask about how their day went. Imagine the nerve.
Generally speaking, the issues that arise from young siblings are not nearly as severe as those among adults, and although I can remember the sight of her gift in the bottom of the basket, I can’t recall the issues that motivated me to throw her gift away. I have a hard time believing that she had seriously wronged me. If it was some grave offense that had compelled me to hurt her in that way, I believe I might recall the source of it all. Rather than responding to any manner of a serious crime, I’m certain that spite was what motivated me to refuse the gift that she had poured herself into. Of all the things that I cannot recall, there is one tidbit that I can. I wanted her to hurt. I wanted to hurt her, not by hitting her. I wanted her to reel in knowing the fact that her best wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted to see her cry. I suppose I got what I wanted. She did cry, and I never even took the time to unwrap her gift.
The events that unfolded on that cold December morning were likely over in a few minutes, yet the regret of my actions linger now into my mid thirties. I still wonder what was inside that tiny package. I wonder what type of present a little girl would want to give to her big brother. I’ll never know. As much as I had intended to hurt her, I somehow doubt that she spends much time agonizing over that day with her counsellor. For my part, as you can plainly see, that sad day lingers on.

Evangelism Theory

2011-03-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Upon hearing the word, “church” on FM 96 this week, my ears immediately perked up. When you hear mention of the church in the secular media, the news is rarely, if ever, good. They don’t bother reporting when the church helps build houses for the homeless, or its members give shelter to those living on the streets. Those items aren’t newsworthy. Whenever I hear mention of ‘the church’, it’s normally because of some sin or some blatant shortcoming of her people. So when I heard the DJ talk about church, I knew it couldn’t be good.

Fortunately, nobody was molested this time around and no one embezzled money from the finances. They were making fun of a couple of different things that some churches are doing in order to try and ‘fill up the pews’. One church is giving away two prizes of $500 in order to draw people to its Easter service. Another offers Christian pole dancing classes. The radio DJ’s found these examples to be absolutely hilarious.

It is a very sad day when even the people of the world are able to recognize when the church has debased herself. Unfortunately, some churches are the legitimate targets of public ridicule.

We all have our own theories on the most effective ways to lead people to Christ. The proof is in the putting. If you have led 6 or more unchurched people to Christ within the last year, I’ll be glad to listen to yours. In my life as of late, I have had the unwanted privilege of watching the debate through the spectacles of my e-mail account. I don’t know if this sounds anti-evangelical, but sometimes, I think that it is better to let that church or that Christian organization die. It isn’t that I mind being subject to public ridicule for the sake of Christ, but when the jokes take aim at our worldliness, what shame it is. It is better for the church to close its doors than to dirty the name of Jesus.

What are your evangelical theories? I have very few. Here is however one of my own theories.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 (New Living Translation)
20 In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. 21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

Being used of God has less to do with strategy than it does the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those around us. How many of you know precisely the inner workings of God’s Spirit in hearts of those around you? Being ready to be used by the Master is tied to the lives that we live.

I’m not Mr. Superhero Evangelist. However, today I watched as my little sister publicly professed Christ as her Lord and Savior. My brother in law did the same. For some time now, I have prayed for them and done what I could to be a witness for Christ in their lives. Praise God.

You’ll have to ask her as to how much weight my example has played in her faith. I don’t know for sure. However, if she knew me to be a liar, a drunk, an abuser, greedy, licentious, a gossip or a slanderer, how interested do you think she would be in knowing the Jesus that I proclaim?

For those of us who consider ourselves to be evangelical, how much weight do we really place on keeping ourselves pure? Is that part of our strategy? Or are we more inclined to show how worldly we can be and still be fine with Jesus? Paul tells Timothy, “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use.” Vs 21

I’m sure that your church isn’t handing out fistfuls of cash on Easter Sunday. You likely don’t have pole dancing lessons either. I pray that the Christian freak show doesn’t get any worse than it is.

My Church: Faith

2011-03-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

What is my church like? It's filled with incredibly human people. Some of us are serious about being used of God, others just want to enjoy this life and feel good about our standing with Him. Some of us are warm. Some of us are not.

We are a big enough church that you can slip in and out and few people will notice. Which is good if you just want to check it out in secret agent kind of way. The drawback (if you call it that), is that it's large enough that if you actually want to be a part of the family, you'll have to be intentional about finding ways to connect with people there. Sure, we have greeters at the door. They'll smile at you. They'll shake your hand and they really are glad to see you, but they won't know you from Jack the bear.

Overall, I believe in the people in leadership. There are always issues, but I believe that their hearts are normally in the right place.

It took me over a year to find my place, but am glad that I have. I am very thankful for the men and women who walk with me; people who take the initiative to pray for me when they are aware of my needs. I hope that I do the same for them.

Your experience might vary, but if you are looking for a Christian faith family of you own, I'd encourage you to check it out.

Kevin

Expecting

2011-03-21T05:21:00.001-07:00

Psalm 139:13-16 (New International Version, ©2011)

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

My Heart Aches

2011-03-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

I’m caught in between two worlds tonight. At supper this evening, I read a booklet called Quantum Faith. Don’t worry. It’s only 20 pages long. I didn’t want to pull an intellectual muscle or anything.

The premise of the book goes something like this, “You are the one giving substance to your world through words!” It seems to be all about getting God to do the miraculous things that you want Him to do. Through faith and the power of your words, you can do everything from keeping your car running perfectly to preventing your computer from crashing.

In the other part of my world, my friend from public school spends his days and nights watching as his son struggles for life itself. Unless God extends His strong right hand, it doesn’t look good.

I know I should be a little more diplomatic when I make reference to the literary efforts of a fellow believer. It sounds to me, little more than a Christian version of witchcraft. Get your words right, get the faith formula down and God is obligated to act in the way that you dictate.

I hurt for my friend. If Quantum Faith is right, then my prayers must be little better than that of the heathen, because the young man hasn’t been healed.

The way that I understand scripture, the promise of the Gospel isn’t that our luck will get better. The assurance is that we have been made right with The Father through Christ The Son. For many, the road is tough.

God does act amazingly on behalf of many who seek His face. The unfortunate reality, is that it’s not always the case.

Hebrews 11:36-40 (New Living Translation)
36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

Keep this in mind. “None of them received all that God had promised” vs 39. If these people of faith did not receive all that God had promised, what are the odds that you and I receive all that He promises here in this present life?

Having a reliable vehicle, well behaved children and a stable computer isn’t the end result of our faith. Even nonbelievers desire after these things. My friend, if you are reading this, I hope you are encouraged. Faith in Christ is in itself the victory. If you are able to maintain your testimony for Jesus in this trial, I can think of few things nearly so miraculous.

Alma Mater

2011-03-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

Seeing ourselves through the eyes of someone else can be a wonderful blessing. I recently had the pleasure of meeting up with a friend of mine from public school. His name is Rob. Without him, I’d probably still be listening to the likes of WHAM! . He was the guy who introduced me to the music of Alice Cooper.

He found me on Facebook a few months ago and asked if we could get together. Sadly, I was kind of nervous getting together with him after all these years. I always admired him for the fact that he was so many things that I was not. He was tough, but he wasn’t a bully. He was funny, without being a prankster.

He’s still a pretty cool guy and has gotten really good at playing guitar. He still likes heavy metal. In our short time together he asked
me, “Do you remember when we met?”

It’s the kind of question you really want to have an answer for isn’t it? You don’t want to be on the forgetful end of the relationship. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember.

“Kev. I remember meeting you while some guys were trying to stuff you in a locker. I liked you from that moment on.”

Funny I would forget a moment like that.

This weekend I’ll be catching up with some of my friends from university. There’s never a bad time to visit with someone who added value to your life. Do you want to bless someone? Remind them of your first memory of them.

It was good to see you again Rob. In the words of Alice Cooper…
“I hope….I hope you won’t forget me or nothin’.” Alma Mater, Schools Out
(That song chokes me up. Too bad I can’t find a good version on You Tube)

Training for Unrighteousness

2011-03-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, you might find yourself in conversations where you talk about those kinds of parents who ‘shelter their children’. When we talk about vagrant parents like that, do you ever wonder who they are? Do they have names? Or are they merely an elite, ivory tower secret society.

I want to save you the time of trying to figure out this mystery. They’re probably talking about me. Last week, in conversation, my wife made mention of “The Finger”. You know what The Finger is right? If you are looking at the back of your right hand, it’s the second finger from the left. If you count your thumb, it’s the third from the left. If you are looking at the palm of your right hand, it’s the third from the left. It is often referred to as being the middle finger, which is only partially accurate. It really isn’t the middle finger unless you consider the opposable thumb to be a finger. If you are left handed…..Never mind.

Upon hearing mention of “The Finger”, my 12 year old daughter asked, “What is the finger?”

Unfortunately, it is true. There are some things that we have neglected to teach our children. This is one of those things. My wife and I looked at each other and I asked, “Is this the kind of thing that we need to teach her?”

I entertained the thought for a moment. No. I’m really not trying to intentionally shelter the poor girl from those valuable life skills such as flipping the bird. I didn’t take the time to pray about it, which might very well be the source of my error. The conclusion that I came to in those few seconds was this. No. I’m not going to be the one who teaches her that.

“Sorry my daughter. You can learn that somewhere else. I’m sure most of your friends know by now. Ask them.”

Innocence is a horrible thing isn’t it? I maintain the hope that my children will eventually pick up all of these essential life skills. I just pray that they don’t get them from me.

You’re right. The Bible doesn’t make mention of “The Finger.” What about those other valuable life skills? Would you intentionally teach your kids to lie? How can a person get through life successfully if they are honest?

I have a friend of mine who sold his car last year. He sold it to a young woman who was headed off to university in the fall. It was a very inexpensive vehicle, and likewise, he offered no warranty on it. Selling used vehicles is as risky, if not more so, than buying a used vehicle. No matter how thoroughly you go over and inspect a vehicle, there is no way to predict the future reliability of the vehicle you are selling.

About a week after selling the car, the young woman came back to my friend. A noise had developed in the rear brakes. Even though no warranty was given or implied for the vehicle, the young lady and her father expected my friend to repair it for free. After removing the wheels, he noticed that the brakes had been over heated. Here is the conversation that ensued.

My friend – “What happened to the brakes? It wasn’t like that when I inspected it last week.”

The daughter – “Oh. I left on the parking brake and drove around with it for a while. Could that have something to do with it?”

Giving his daughter stern glare, dad abruptly cut into the conversation saying, “She only drove it for a few feet in the parking lot. The brakes were obviously defective.”

It makes me wonder what kind of conversation they had with each other before they left home. “Come with me little girl, and I’ll teach you how to scam the used car dealer.”

I’m sure that my children will pick up enough junk without me being the one to intentionally train them. Unfortunately, enough of it comes from me as it is.

I'd Rather Join The Rotary Club

2011-03-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

One thing I hear repeatedly about Jesus, is that He was tough on the religious Jews of His day, but went easy on the blatant sinners. True story. Today’s equivalent to the religious Jews would be the church. Would it not? So if Jesus were here, in the flesh today, He’d go easy on the sinners and play hardball with the church.

If that's the case, why on earth would anyone want to be a part of the church? A close friend of mine just led someone to Christ a couple of weeks ago. Is there a grace period where we continue being nice to new converts, at least for a little while? Maybe we should give them at least a month before we beat on them. How ‘bout a year?

In some ways, we are nicer to newcomers than we are to our own. We have block parties, barbeques, festivals, dessert nights and movie nights, sometimes in the hopes that we can at least get them on the property.

Was He hard on religious Jews? Or was He hard on the religious Jews who rejected Him?

NOT Born This Way

2011-03-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, Lady Gaga makes me think about my own life. I suppose, as a Christian blogger, I should spend most of my time bashing her. Truth is, I do admire her flare for the theatric. I hope that it stems from her own creativity and isn’t something inspired by drug use. That would be completely lame.

Her latest album is called, “Born This Way”. I don’t know about you, but when I survey my life’s course, I wasn’t born this way.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (English Standard Version)
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Over the past few months, I have had the privilege of connecting with several people from my public school days. I often feel like I owe many of my longstanding friends a bit of an apology. I mean, when they chose to invest themselves into my life, it’s not like they signed up for the person that I am now.

I’m not the same person that I used to be. If you have known me for over 15 years, whether you see it as an improvement or not, the difference is Jesus. My friends from University have been among the most gracious in accepting me for who I was without Christ, as well as who I am in Him.

Unfortunately, the phrase ‘born again’ seems to carry with it a lot of negative baggage. Having lived on both sides of the fence, there are worse things than being forgiven. I like who I am in Christ and don’t want to go back.

Whatever you have been 'born into', I want you to know that it doesn't have to dominate your future.

Which is Worse?

2011-03-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

Genesis 3:22-24 (English Standard Version)
“22Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—" 23therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”

If you have walked in Christian circles for any length of time, no doubt you have heard about how Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Many of us know that God drove the man and woman from the garden. The part that I often had trouble with was this section.

After having eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God was concerned that Adam might have taken of the tree of life and have lived forever. It almost seemed mean that God wouldn’t allow the man and woman to eat of the tree of life.

For some time now, I’ve understood on an intellectual and theological level a few of the reasons why it would have been a bad thing for the man and woman to have eaten of the tree of life. It has only been the last while however that the reality has settled into my heart.

How do you feel about things like child poverty? How do you feel about things like sexual and emotional abuse? Do you like the bloodshed and starvation that you see in the world? What about human trafficking and the sex trade? Ever lose someone to drug abuse?

There are worse things than death. One of them is this –

A world forever cursed.

If Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life, that’s exactly what would have transpired. As horrible as the notion of dying might be, I believe that it is better to die once, than to live cursed for all eternity. (Not that I’m looking forward to that dark battle.)

Why Bother?

2011-03-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

We’ve Been Commanded

I suppose if you aren’t a follower of Jesus Christ, then this won’t apply to you. God doesn’t expect the children of the world to love each other with a selfless love. In fact, selfless love should not be in their nature. Those who belong to the world should lie to one another, take from one another, and cheat one another. They should talk behind each other’s back. They should have tribal factions and war with each other. They should think that they are better than one another and kill those who are opposed to them. The people of the world should, by their character, abuse the power they have obtained and lord it over the people who are subject to them. They should feel victimized and blame others for all of their life’s trials and troubles.

If however, you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus Christ, this applies to you....

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John 15:12

These are some of the words that Jesus had for his disciples during His last supper with them. In a way, this might be a culmination of His work with them. Out of all of the things He has taught them, of all of the things He has shown them, this might just be the very core of what He was trying to convey. He wanted His people to love each other in the same way that He loved them.

Unfortunately, sometimes the church acts in every way, as if they are of the world. At times, her people bicker amongst themselves. At times, we have our own factions and power plays. From God’s perspective, I think there are very few things that disturb Him to that extent.

My wife and I have been blessed to have had 4 children. Our three youngest children just so happen to be boys. I don’t know if our experience with our 3 sons is typical, although I am led to believe that it is. I grew up with two sisters and no brothers, while my wife had only one sister. We never planned on having three sons, so we really had no idea of what to expect. There is this energy in our household, that neither my wife nor I endured in our own childhood experience. There is always someone jumping, always someone getting hurt, and always someone in a wrestling match.

Being severely outweighed, I had always assumed that my youngest would have to stay away from the traditional boyish tussle, but time has shown me the error of my assumption. Not only is he willing to join the fray at the drop of a hat, he is surprisingly capable of holding his own.

If my child is hurt by a friend of his, it doesn’t trouble me all that much. In that scenario, I merely need to feel the pain of my injured son. I do not have the groaning of a father whose son has been the aggressor. If my son hurts his friend, it bothers me more. It might sound odd, but as long as the injury is not severe, I prefer my son to have taken a hit rather than being the culprit. Most physical injuries will heal over time, but time itself has little power to change one’s sinister character.

As a parent, few things bother me quite so much as when my own children mistreat one another. It troubles me, because no matter who gets hurt, something inside of me hurts. Not only do I have to deal with the pain of the son who hurts, I also have to deal with the injustice committed by my other son. I hurt from both sides. I hurt because one of my sons has been unjust and I hurt because one of my sons has been wrongfully treated.

Without putting words in the mouth of Almighty God, that may very well be why Christ had given his disciples the command to love each other in the same way that He had loved them. God wants His children to love each other, and for this cause, He spent His earthly ministry demonstrating to them what it looks like to love each other. In those precious few hours together before He was arrested, there was an urgent undercurrent in what He was trying to communicate. It was like He was saying, ‘Guys. I want you to do for each other the same things that I have done for you. Have you been paying attention? Have you noticed the ways in which I have demonstrated My love to you? Love each other the same way. If you haven’t been paying attention, I’ll try and explain what it looks like.....’

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s own life for one’s friend.” John 15:13

Over the course of His time with them, I don’t know if they ever really noticed the way in which He had loved them. Some of their time was spent looking at the modern architecture as if they were tourists (Matthew 24:1). They competed with each other for power and control in Christ’s kingdom (Mark 10:35-45). They argued amongst themselves about who would be the greatest. (Luke 22:24)
It is almost as if Jesus is pleading with them to get past themselves. The command to love each other wasn’t so much a new command as it was a summary of what He had been trying to teach them all along. ‘Give up trying to be better than each other. Stop pretending that you are more important than one another. Stop living life as if you are some kind of tourist. I’m going away and I’m leaving you behind to carry on the work of the Kingdom.’

Save the Planet

2011-03-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I’m at it again. I have finished another go round through The Bible. This time through, I’m going to walk through the ESV.

Environmentalism is a word I think we all talk a lot about in our time. I don’t know if this sounds mean or not, but for all the talk of environmentalists, I don’t think I’ve ever met one. Have you ever asked anyone to give up some of their unnecessary luxuries? I won’t even try. I don’t want to be hated. The way I understand it, environmentalism is kind of like a religion, where no matter what you sacrifice, you’re never really good enough to qualify.

I’ve gotten rid of my incandescent bulbs, but I’m not in the club. This past winter, we kept our house at 15 degrees celcius to save on our natural gas. I’m still not in the club. This summer, my wife and I won’t be using our A/C in order to reduce our electrical consumption. Even if we do have the endurance, I doubt that this will even win a position with the club. I feel like I do most of what environmentalists advocate, but I never seem to fit in.

Being environmental has more to do with waving a banner, owning a Prius and burning a candle during earth hour than actually being good stewards of God’s creation.

Genesis 1:28 (English Standard Version)
28And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

You can keep your cell phone, even if you don’t need it. I really don’t care. As people, we were called to have dominion over the earth. Having dominion implies that we were to have both the authority over and responsibility for all living things on earth. If we envision the life that the first people lived, it really wouldn’t much resemble the life that you and I are living now would it? Where is the plane ride to the Dominican? Where are the consumer electronics? Where's the night life?

How many of us could be content in the life that Paul seems to be advocating when he’s talking to Timothy?

1 Timothy 6:7-9 (New Living Translation)
7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

If we have food and clothing, we should be content. I don’t know about you, but most of the time, I want at least a little bit more than that. I like to think that I live a fairly simple life, without having too much unecessarry consumption in it. I do like my laptop. I like my cell phone. I like playing my NES. Most of us like the things that this world has to offer more than we should. It isn’t the government’s fault. I’m not even advocating that we turn back the clock.

The debate in our time has very little to do with whether or not we should be good stewards of the earth. It has more to do with answering these two questions;

1 How do I do that?
2 How many pleasures can I keep without wrecking the place?

Excerpt from Alien Love Chapter 3: Identifying Love

2011-02-27T17:05:00.000-08:00

Love does not delight in evil

As you read this, I hope it doesn’t sound too elementary. I hope this, because I’ve been wrestling with these very basic principles, and I hate to think that you have firmly grasped onto the things which continue to evade me. Do I have to really love everyone? If so, do I have to be tender hearted and affectionate to everyone? Does God like everyone?

Love isn’t always soft and fuzzy. If fact, there are certain things that love hates. Loves doesn’t delight in evil. I might even go so far as to say that love hates evil. I think it works in reverse as well. Evil hates love. In several places throughout Scripture, we are told to hate evil; that which is morally bad, sinful or depraved. Here is one passage in particular:

Psalm 97:10
10 Let those who love the LORD hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

The concepts of good and evil remain prevalent throughout time. Even in a culture of moral relativists, there is a sense that there are things which are acceptable and unacceptable. The actual debate in our culture isn’t about whether morality is relative. The real debate in our world has to do with who decides what is right and wrong. Prove me wrong.

Most people who claim that morality is relative to the individual, make quite definite moral stands themselves. It’s impossible to remove morality from the public sphere, because social law always has to do with what it allows or denies its citizens. So we find moral relativists who have very strong opinions on abortion and same sex marriage. As I’ve said, the debate in our time, is over who decides.

If you’ve been reading along, you likely know who I believe decides what is right and what is wrong. If we really have been created, then the one who made us gets to do the choosing. That’s not abstract thinking. If I start up my own business, I’m the one who decides how that business is run. If God is the One who made this all, and if He’s the One who we answer to when we’re done, He’s the one who chooses. That’s why for many people, they have to believe that there is no God, because if there is a God, if this wasn’t an accident, the reckoning is going to be all too serious.

Love hates the things that God hates. Much of the time, part of the reason why it hates those things, is because they ruin lives. Have you ever met someone who said, “I’m so glad that my mom is an alcoholic.”? “I can’t wait for my dad to come home and abuse our family.”? “I’m so fortunate to have been sexually exploited when I was a child.”?

There are times in our relationships where we allow people to follow after their own evil desires. I suppose much of the time, we really don’t see their desires as being evil. In this instance, even if I knew of an example, I don’t know if I’d want to share it. After all, if it was about one of you, would you want to see your dirty laundry exposed in this arena? Instead, I’m going to look at a couple who lived a few thousand years ago.

Their names are Ahab and Jezebel. They were the king and queen of Israel around 860BC. It was a good life being the king. Ahab’s job brought home a decent pay check week after week, and he made enough money to put a decent roof over their heads. There weren’t any amusement parks back in the day, but if they wanted to go somewhere on summer vacation, they weren’t without the funds or the transportation.

It can be tough at the top though. No matter how much you acquire, there always seems to be something that you don’t have which belongs to someone else. Next to Ahab’s palace in Samaria, there was a vineyard belonging to a man named Naboth. It would be the perfect addition to the palace. Ahab already had plans to make it into a vegetable garden. The problem was that it belonged to Naboth and he refused to sell it.

Unfortunately, Ahab wasn’t on my contact list. He didn’t purchase my last book, listen to me speak, or read any of my blog posts. He didn’t really hate the things that God hated. If he did, if he knew that God hated coveting, and if he had have chosen to agree with God, he would have left the vegetable garden dream in the closet of his mind. But Ahab longed for the things that belonged to other people. That, by definition, is coveting.

Love hates coveting because God hates coveting. If Ahab’s wife had been aware of God’s stand on coveting, and if she had truly loved her husband, Ahab’s plans for the vegetable garden should have ended there. Instead, Ahab allowed his jealousy to bother him to the point where his bride began to notice it in his appearance.

Once day she asked him, “What’s the matter?... What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”
“I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.
“Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard.” 1 Kings 21:5-7

Ahab’s wife got the vineyard for him. She conspired in having Naboth murdered by the people of his town. The story of Ahab and Jezebel might sound a bit extreme. After all, when is the last time any of us had someone murdered? We’re not as bad as they are. Or are we? The sad thing about the relationship between Ahab and Jezebel isn’t the severity of their crimes. The dark reality at play here is this; if we are open and transparent about some of these themes, these elements have their way of showing up in some of our own relationships. Jezebel had something to profit in Ahab’s gain. She would also have her own use for the garden.

I knew of a couple where the husband had a business outside of his full time employment. Sometimes, he would accept cash payments and fail to report the earnings on his income tax. His wife was pleased to have a little extra spending money on weekends. After a few years, a very strange and unfortunate thing happened. The man and woman went through a very horrible divorce. That was the unfortunate part. The strange part was this. After the divorce, the woman reported her ex-husband to Revenue Canada for failing to claim all of his business income. Is that not wierd? Before the divorce, she was very approving of the practise. What changed?

Nothing changed. She didn’t love him before they were divorced and neither did she love him after the divorce. If she had truly loved him while they were married, she would not have approved of his business practices because love does not delight in what is wrong.

Have you ever been in a relationship where you could profit from your partner’s dishonesty? As I look back on my life, these same themes have come up in my own marriage. There have been times when my wife and I have coveted our neighbour’s property. Maybe your neighbour doesn’t have a vineyard. Does he have a shiny new car? How about a new deck? Coveting is like stealing. What if your spouse did something a little dishonest at work that brought home some extra money? Since it profits you in some way, would you let it slide? Love doesn’t do this. Would you make them make it right? Or would you take the money and use it to buy some fishing tackle or to get your hair done? Would you speak out against the evil or would you pretend that it wasn’t all that bad?

Gadhafi is Better than God.

2011-02-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

I’m not trying to become an apologist, but I just can’t seem to shake this.

The kind of conversations and discussions between believers and the non-believing world haven’t changed a bit since 33 AD. Truthfully, the dialogue began well before Jesus even walked on the face of the earth. I encourage you to consider these words from one of the greatest minds in antiquity.

I encourage you to consider exactly what he is advocating about God. Here is the phrase that I think best describes the thought-

Forced subjection.

The last time I surveyed humanity, tyranny tends to have a foul smell associated with it. If God were to impose His will on humanity, would you call that good? Do we admire the way Gadhafi is trying to impose his rule upon the people of Libya?

As I said last time, I still don’t care what you believe. Just sayin’ is all.

Some Conversations Never Get Old

2011-02-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

I’m sure if you were to get to know me, it wouldn’t take long before you caught on to some inconsistencies in my life. Actually, I’ll save you the trouble. I don’t like watching Harry Potter because the hero of the story is an unrepentant sorcerer. I also happen to like the Narnia series, not because it’s written by a Christian, but the witch is bad ok? And I could likely handle the LOTR series if Gandalf wasn’t a wizard. Some of my friends are quite happy to see those hypocrisies in my life, so I thought I should just get it out of the way.

For some reason, it’s just so much easier to notice hypocrisy in other people. One of my personal favorites was brought to mind today. I was having a conversation with a man who does not believe that Jesus Christ is THE guy. I don’t know if you would label him as an atheist or an agnostic. I’d vote atheist, because he seems to think that he knows all that he needs to know.

Unfortunately, in the realm of spiritual debate, nothing is ever new. Is it? You have heard the same objections time and again. The one that keeps coming to mind is this one….

“We can’t really trust the Bible. I mean, it’s not like they had the internet or printing presses back then. It all had to be hand written. Since it was preserved that way, it must have been changed.”

There is some truth there. I can accept these as being plausible objections. What I find rather strange is that the same objections rarely seem to be raised with regards to other ancient writings. The fellow in question made it quite clear that there were other Jesus’ who did miracles and fit the bill for the Messiah. Strange isn’t it? How was this information passed down to him? I guess these other Jesus’ must have had access to their own printing presses. That is apparently the Achilles Heel of The Bible, so there is no way that this guy would believe in these Jesus’ if they didn’t have printing presses of their own.

The earliest manuscript of Plato is thought to have been written about 1000 years after his death. Do we question his writings in the same way that The Bible is questioned?

The truth is, I couldn’t care less what you believe. To be honest, I didn’t say much to this fellow. He seemed to have life pretty much figured out.

Atheists Burn in Hell

2011-02-21T19:01:00.000-08:00

I’ve spent way too much of my evening reading celebrity news feeds. Is it me, or do most comment sections eventually turn into a discussion about God? They take on many forms. If a natural disaster is at hand, someone might say that it’s God’s judgment. If there is some freaky asteroid, someone will pipe up saying that the end is near.

This evening, I found myself wrapped up in my personal favorite…..

1. Some guy takes a small shot against born again Christians. (even using the ‘f’ as a descriptor)

2. Christians respond saying that the guy in question is going to hell.
(Always a witty comeback)

3. Non-believers respond complaining that Christians are always threatening everybody with hell.

As a believer, I don’t mind being hated. It’s not that I like it, but if the world rejected Jesus, if I belong to Him, they shouldn’t really fall in love with me. Should they? I don’t personally tell people they are going to hell very often.

What I do often find odd, is when nonbelievers get offended about being warned about hell. I mean, if someone really doesn’t believe in all of this God stuff, then it really shouldn’t be a sore point. It doesn’t matter to me if a Muslim thinks that I am an infidel. It doesn’t bother me because I am secure in my standing with Jesus. In the very core of my soul, I know that they are wrong in writing me off.

If you don’t believe in Jesus, but still get offended at the talk of hell, maybe it’s time to do some serious soul searching. I know it’s not a nice thing, but if it really is completely a thing born of myth and fiction, there is absolutely no reason to be upset. Perhaps you really don’t believe what you think you believe.

Laughing at Scripture

2011-02-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

Last night, my kids thought that this passage was absolutely hilarious. They couldn't imagine that anyone would be so daft as to send three groups of men after the man of God.

As for me, I think that this is my favourite story in all of The Bible.

2 Kings 1:1-15 (New Living Translation)

2 Kings 1
Elijah Confronts King Ahaziah
1 After King Ahab’s death, the land of Moab rebelled against Israel.
2 One day Israel’s new king, Ahaziah, fell through the latticework of an upper room at his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured. So he sent messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether he would recover.

3 But the angel of the Lord told Elijah, who was from Tishbe, “Go and confront the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is there no God in Israel? Why are you going to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether the king will recover? 4 Now, therefore, this is what the Lord says: You will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.’” So Elijah went to deliver the message.

5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you returned so soon?”

6 They replied, “A man came up to us and told us to go back to the king and give him this message. ‘This is what the Lord says: Is there no God in Israel? Why are you sending men to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.’”

7 “What sort of man was he?” the king demanded. “What did he look like?”

8 They replied, “He was a hairy man,[a] and he wore a leather belt around his waist.”

“Elijah from Tishbe!” the king exclaimed.

9 Then he sent an army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest him. They found him sitting on top of a hill. The captain said to him, “Man of God, the king has commanded you to come down with us.”

10 But Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all.

11 So the king sent another captain with fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, the king demands that you come down at once.”

12 Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” And again the fire of God fell from heaven and killed them all.

13 Once more the king sent a third captain with fifty men. But this time the captain went up the hill and fell to his knees before Elijah. He pleaded with him, “O man of God, please spare my life and the lives of these, your fifty servants. 14 See how the fire from heaven came down and destroyed the first two groups. But now please spare my life!”

15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him, and don’t be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went with him to the king.

Now That's Funny!

2011-02-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

I’ve never been known to be someone to say whether or not God does or does not have a sense of humour. I do know that He laughs, but am not certain that it’s about a matter found to be hilarious. There are however certain aspects of life which lend evidence to support that He may.

When my wife and I were newer believers, we had it on our hearts to financially help a couple that intended to live out their married lives as missionaries. We haven’t helped them as much through the years as we would have liked, but have done what we could. They don’t pry on our heart strings, so when other needs are brought before us, they do get the shorter end of the stick. I mean, when the church’s roof is leaking, if the kitchen needs to be upgraded or the building debt is mounting, the leadership are there to make us all aware of the need. Our missionary friends on the other hand just give God the glory for His provision and place little on our hearts of the knowledge of their needs.

As the years have flown by, our missionary couple still lives in Southwestern Ontario. To me, that’s funny. In fact, I had a good laugh on the way home this evening.

Although they seem to remain planted here on the home front, I am very pleased to be partnered with them, even if my role in their ministry remains rather small. I would like to share with you some of their thoughts as they continue to live out their calling in a place where the soil often proves itself to be rather hard.

“Why do others get to go and we're called to stay? We never intended to be in North America and yet this is exactly where God has very clearly lead us... I inwardly chafed and complained.

Quite a number of years ago Craig put everything in perspective when he said, "How would you live if we were overseas? Live that way here."

So, to know Him here OR there... to be faithful to what He's called me to here OR there... to love well here OR there... It doesn't really matter -- I *need* Him and am completely dependent on His grace either way.”

If you appreciate people who simply live a thankful, Biblically gracious life, I encourage you to check out their blog once in a while.

http://baumanfamilypaths.blogspot.com

Faithful Obedience

2011-02-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

Envision this if you will. The scene is set in a city named Antioch, which is located in Syria. Due to persecution from religious Jews, many believers had been driven there and this is the city where they were first labelled to be Christians. Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch, we find five prominent men who, for some reason, were taking time to fast and to pray together.

We’re not told why they were fasting and praying together. We aren’t told if they were the Wednesday night prayer group. We don’t know if they were holding a Bible study on prayer and fasting. Nothing is given to us which would indicate that they had read the latest book on evangelism and this is part and parcel of the material they were working through together. What we know, is that these five men were worshiping the Lord and fasting. From the appearance of it, it has the feel as if these five men were merely people who loved God and who were actively seeking His will for their lives.

The five men in question are these.
Barnabas – known as a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith (Acts 11:24)

Simeon – affectionately referred to as “the black man”

Lucius – from Cyrene – an ancient Greek city in what we would presently refer to as Libya

Manaen – When he was a kid, he used to hang out with King Herod Antipas

Saul – a man who used to persecute Christians and support their murder

These five men all bring different gifts, contacts and abilities to their roles within the church. As they lived out their roles within the church, we really don’t know exactly what form in which their calling found itself. Did they all lead Bible studies? Did they teach Sunday school? Did they all preach on Sunday morning? Did some of them lead men’s group on Thursday night? Keep in mind; these weren’t the only prophets and teachers at this church. These were simply 5 from, “among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch.” Acts 13:1

In their time of worship and fasting together, in some way or another, they heard a clear message from the Holy Spirit saying to, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” Acts 13:2

In the circles in which I run, there is much that has been said about the kind of obedience demonstrated by Barnabas and Saul. And why not? Saul’s work in particular comprises much of what we have received as being the New Testament.

At this particular evening, morning or afternoon of worship and fasting, nobody knows exactly what God had in mind for Barnabas and Saul. No one knew exactly where Saul and Barnabas would be going or what they would do when they got there. All that was known, is that they were to be set apart for some special work.

If you happened to be Manaen, what would obedience look like? For whatever reason, God hasn’t seen fit to set him apart for this special work. How do you suppose that would sit with him? Would it be unexpected for him to ask and wrestle with any of these questions?

What is so special about Barnabas and Saul?
Why didn’t God pick me?
Am I not a better speaker than Saul? I used better stories and illustrations. He doesn’t even use powerpoint!
It just makes sense that I should go. I’ve got connections. In fact, I’m old friends with the King.
Doesn’t God speak through me?
What does Paul have that I don’t have?

There is a lot to be said for people like Saul, who go to the places to which God has called them. Little is said however in Christian circles of the men and women who remain where God wants them. I guess that stems out of the thought that there is little which is found to be admirable in staying where you are. Going somewhere to do something for God has the feel of faithfulness, where remaining faithful where you are does not. If you aren’t going anywhere to do anything, you likely won’t get called up on stage and have the elders or the church pray for you. It would be surreal wouldn’t it?

Doesn’t it almost make you smile or chuckle to imagine the scene? “Ok church. Everyone come up to the front and pray for brother John. He isn’t going anywhere to do anything. He’s just going to stay here with us and remain faithful in his calling.”

The faith lived out by people such as Manaen may not have the texture of any form of evangelical faith, but it is not a life of inactivity, even though it may seem that way. Manaen is known as one of the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch. The odds are, that he actually teaches or speaks for God, at least on occasion.

Foreign missions work isn’t supposed to be the Christian version of a vacation. I guess I don’t sound evangelical do I? We are given very little insight into the particular’s of Manaen’s life. We don’t know if he had a ‘secular’ job, or if he was paid for his work as a teacher within the church. We don’t know for sure if he wanted to stay or not, but are left with the sense that he remained serving faithfully at Antioch. Neither do we know whether or not he left Antioch later at some point in his life.

Remaining where God wants you isn’t always an easy thing to do. You wonder sometimes don’t you? You wonder if other people are looking at you saying, “Too bad about Bob. He just never seemed to do much with his faith. I think he’s one of those lukewarm Christians.” You’re just wasting your life, working at MacDonald’s or smiling at people as they walk through the door at Walmart. Or worse yet. What if you drive truck or, dare I say....work in a factory?

If we have come to know Jesus, the question we are meant to continually evaluate may sound something like this,

Are we actively seeking and living out His will for our lives?

If we are asked to stay, do we harbour feelings of having missed out? Do we hang on to feelings of jealousy for those on stage? On the flip side, if we’re asked to go somewhere to do something, do we go, even if we don’t want to go? Would we go, even if we knew that shipwreck and chains lie in wait for us?

How much time do you actively spend in seeking God’s will for your life’s course? How much time do I spend? Is it worth giving up lunch?

Perhaps you are much more faithful than you, or others give you credit for. Your life from your perspective may not seem to line up with the North American Christian ideal. Changing dirty diapers in the nursery, teaching Sunday school or shaking hands at the door, don’t smell like evangelism, but if these are coming out of a heart that has been indwelt and prompted by the Holy Spirit, it sounds like faithful obedience to me.

Going when we have been told to stay is sin, just as it is to stay when we’ve been told to go. If you’re actively seeking God’s will for your life, whether you stay where you are or are going somewhere to do something, I hope we could get along. If you are going somewhere to do something because you think that’s what Christians should be doing, I’ll probably grate on you. If absolutely nothing is coming out of your life, then you might want to question what manner of spirit resides inside.

Despicable Me

2011-02-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

Luke 7:36-47 (New Living Translation)
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.[a] 37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”
“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver[b] to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”
“That’s right,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

I remember the first time that I listened to a minister preach on this passage. I was attending a United Church at the time as either a new believer or someone who was searching. I really can’t say for sure, because I don’t exactly know when I really believed. I should have marked it on the calendar.

As I listened to the story of this woman and as I considered what she had done for Jesus, it was easy to tell that I didn’t express my love for Jesus in the same way. In my heart, I knew that I didn’t love Him the way that this woman loved Him.

It’s odd in a way. It was the very words of Jesus Himself that made me feel ok about my indifference to him.

“But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

The way I saw myself in this passage, I really didn’t have all that much to be forgiven for. There was no reason in my mind why I should be compelled to be broken before Him or grateful for the privilege of lying at His feet.

There are different ways in which we live out a self righteous life. I believe most of us as believers tend to think of the rule following Pharisees in this regard. However, that wasn’t the kind of self righteousness that I was living. Self righteousness can be just as prevalent, perhaps even more so, in a life which doesn’t strive to live by any rules at all. That was the kind of self righteousness that I had lived for much of my life.

Maybe the greatest benefit to living that kind of life, was that nobody every finds it necessary to call you a hypocrite. The moment we take a stand on anything, there is always someone there willing to bring some inconsistency to light. Yet when we live life however we see fit, without much regard to what is right or wrong, who can bring such a charge before us?

I had believed myself to be a decent person, who really had little need to be forgiven. As I continue in my walk with Christ, there are two truths which continue to make themselves more and more evident. I realize just how disgusting I have been. I don’t know how it happens or how that little United Churched me couldn’t have recognized or even remembered the filth. It’s almost as if our conscience protects us in some way from seeing ourselves in light of complete truth. Otherwise, without Jesus, I question whether or not I could have handled the truth about myself at that point in time.

I also grow in my amazement at how forgiving our Savior is. There are many things that I don’t even want to speak out loud, things that have been brought to mind especially as of late, but these, as despicable as they are have been nailed to the cross of Christ.

I had been forgiven more than I knew I had need of.

Catholic or Christian?

2011-02-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Hi Kevin.
Sorry to keep asking you questions, but Krista asked a religious question this morning and of course I don't have a clue. Do you mind answering it for her? She asked "What is the difference between a Catholic and a Christian?" All of us have been baptized and are considered Catholic I think. I just don't know what to tell her.
Thanks Kevin.

Hello My Friend.

I hope that you are feeling well and will be able to return to work soon. Please don’t be sorry for asking me questions. I’m not just being polite. In fact, having this role in your life continues to be one of the greater joys of my calling in Christ. I hope we still have the kind of relationship where I can make you smile. I really want you to know how much I appreciate you. The truth is that books, books and more books are written in order to teach churched people like me how to talk to unchurched people like you. Did you smile? Please say that you did, because if you didn’t, I might cry. It’s true though. We call it evangelism. I’ll explain evangelism later. For now…..

“What is the difference between a Catholic and a Christian?”

I prefer to think that my strength lies in Christianity rather than Catholicism, so I’ll begin there. In the most basic terms, the suffix, ‘ian’ is generally meant to identify a person as being either a supporter or citizen of some cause, country or person. A Darwinian would support and subscribe to the teachings and theories of Darwin. A Canadian is a citizen of Canada. Russia – Russian, Australia – Australian and so on.

The word Christian is used to describe people who believe in the Jesus of The Bible. In its first use, it was used by non-believers as a way to label people who had believed in Jesus. Prior to that, Jesus’ followers were often referred to as either disciples, followers or believers.

Acts 11:26 (New Living Translation)
26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)

If you ever take the time to read the New Testament, much of it speaks on what is referred to as, “The Kingdom of God”. You and I are Canadians because we are citizens of Canada. Likewise, as Christians, we who are In Christ have citizenship in Christ’s country.

John 18:36 (New Living Translation)
36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

Jesus’ country (kingdom) is not from this world. So for you or for I to become a part of His kingdom, it’s like committing the ultimate act of high treason. I call myself a Christian, because I believe that His death on the cross actually made the way for me to be a part of His unearthly Kingdom. Out of gratitude, I choose to follow Him and be called as one of His.

In the early days of Christianity, there were no Catholics, Baptists or Anglicans. In the 2000 or so years since He walked in bodily form on the earth, we, as Christians have divided and split into many different flavours.

In a perfect world, there wouldn’t be any difference between being a Catholic and a Christian, but we as people tend to mess stuff up. We have made religions where we were simply called to live in faith. If being a Christian means to identify oneself with Christ, being a Catholic means to identify with being a part of the Catholic Church.

For me, I go to a Baptist type church, but I don’t call myself a Baptist. Being a member of a Church or religion isn’t exactly what God calls us to be. The way that I understand it, being a Catholic and a Christian don’t have to be mutually exclusive. There are Catholics who I believe have genuinely placed their trust in Jesus. For some reason, telling people that you are a Catholic is much easier than telling someone that you are a follower of Jesus Christ. Identifying with a religion is easier than asking the tougher question,

“Do I really believe that I have been made right with The Father through Jesus The Son?”

One can be faked, the other cannot. We can jump through the hoops and join the ‘Church’, but we can’t make ourselves believe. Can we?

My friend, I encourage you to read through Luke and then John in the Bible and ask yourself this question as you read, “What does it mean to believe in and follow Jesus?” I believe strongly that you are called to be the answer man for your darling little girl. I’ll be here for you as much as I can, but you are the man that she looks up to, you are the one who held her when she was young and you’ll be the one who has to screen the scum…..I mean boys she brings home. Not that she’ll have bad taste, but let’s face it, no one is good enough for our little girls. (except Jesus in my opinion)

Here is the simplest way that I can put it. It comes down to identity. Do I place my identity in the religion of Catholicism? Or do I place my identity in the person of Jesus Christ?

I am very glad that we continue to be in touch. I hope that I can continue to encourage you as long as we both possess the breath of life.

May the Lord bless you and may He keep you. When He looks at you, I hope He smiles.

With Love
Kevin

Answering Life Questions

2011-02-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

“Have you ever wanted to do something to serve the Lord, only to realize you can't devote the necessary time because of your current responsibilities? How did you deal with this?”

I can’t give you a manual or a proper flow chart, but the questions that you are asking are the same questions that I continue to ask on an ongoing basis.

I have no idea of what kind of things you have in mind, but I would strongly encourage you to consider your motive. Why do you want to do that thing which lies before you? What is the source of it? Is it you? Is it someone else, or is it Jesus?

It might be you. It isn’t that we aren’t allowed to do the things that we want to do, but sometimes our motives are amiss. We want to do things because we see other people doing them. We want to do things because we feel good when we do them.

As for me, I enjoy speaking. In fact, even if I didn’t love Jesus, I’d still enjoy being front and center and engaging the people before me. The difficulty for me is that when I speak, I walk away with a bit of a high. So I have to be careful that I’m not seeking opportunities for the wrong reasons.

Sometimes we want to do things because we see other people who are doing them and it seems like those are the kinds of things that Christians should all be doing. That’s just another form of idolatry.

If the things that you have in mind are there because God has placed them there, the desire won’t likely go away; assuming that you continue drawing near to Him. If it’s God and if you keep seeking after whatever it is you have in mind to do, He is quite capable of making it happen.

You remind me of a young lady who seems to be seeking first the Kingdom and its righteousness. If I’m right and if that’s what you really are all about, then I encourage you to reflect on what Jesus was saying in Matthew 7:7-8 "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

If the thing that drives you is your own selfish ambition or some other idol, hopefully the desire will subside. I wouldn’t guess that’s the case with you. I would therefore encourage you to merely persist in doing the things that Jesus tells us to do as we seek first His kingdom.

Ask – Keep asking. You have other obligations at the moment. God has a way of dealing with our obligations. In reading the Bible to the kids last night, Elijah was living near a brook. When the brook dried up, it was time for him to move on. Place the matter in His hands. When it’s time to move, He is able to make you move.

When I was a new believer, I had the sense that God wanted me more involved in ministry, but being tied to a family business, I really didn’t have much time to devote to anything outside of that business. I worked Monday to Saturday and had to work a bit on Sundays as well. I prayed to God saying, “If you want me involved more in your service, you’re going to have to dry up my brook.” Within a year, our family business burned to the ground.

Now, hopefully nothing so dramatic will happen at Returning Home. As valuable as you are, the store can carry on in your absence. When it’s time to move, God has the means and the resources to make it happen, if that’s what He wants for you. So keep asking.

The second thing I would encourage you to do is this – Keep seeking. Keep looking for opportunities to do that thing which remains on your heart. If it’s writing, keep writing and keep looking for places to send your writing to. Congratulations by the way on being published online.

Keep looking for places where you might be able to do what’s on your heart. If you aren’t ready to just jump in and ‘do it’, then keep seeking and looking for places that might help to equip you for the task.

The third thing I would encourage you to do is to knock. If you’re asking and seeking, chances are you will find something. When you find an opportunity, knock. Give it a try. Send off a resume. Submit an article you’re written. Call up that church or organization, tell them what is on your heart and ask if they would be interested in what you have to offer.

What if you keep asking, seeking and knocking and nothing happens? Just keep doing these three things as long as the desire is there. Remember that we aren’t following a tin god. If He is in it, He can make it happen. If He’s not in it, I think we need to be willing to let it die.

I hope this helps you. If it makes it worse, just let me know. I’ll stop.

Reconciliation

2011-02-01T19:26:00.000-08:00

Dear Friend

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you would think of me. Yes. Before becoming a godparent, I think you probably should be strip searched. In fact, maybe I can pull a few strings and make it happen. As for you obligations as a godparent, you’ll have to ask the parents. Obviously, the people who asked you must have a tremendous amount of respect for you and see something in your character that reminds them of God. (As do I)

I did my best to answer the question about reconciliation when I spoke with your wife, but I really wanted to take a small amount of time here. I hope that it helps.

As a verb, the word, Reconcile literally means to bring two parties together. I believe the question that was asked of you went something like this,

“Have you been reconciliated?”

The question being asked is a very personal one and you are the only person in this world who can answer it. It’s basically asking whether or not you have been brought into a right relationship with God. It’s a big question and the answer can invoke a lot of soul searching.

Do you even believe in God in the first place? Is there any need to be right with Him? Who says that I’m not right with Him to begin with?

2 Corinthians 5:19 (New Living Translation)
19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

Basically, we have all been separated from God by our sins. Some people believe that if they stop doing ‘bad stuff’ that God will just get over it. Other’s believe that if you do a lot of ‘good stuff’, that it will make up for any bad. I don’t know about you, but it really doesn’t make much sense to me. Imagine that I urinate in your hot tub. Imagine that I do that every day for a year. At the end of the year, I just stop. Does that make it all better? Or what if I keep peeing in your tub on an ongoing basis, but I give money to the local food bank. Will that make up for it?

We’re told in scripture that God was in Jesus, making us right with Himself – no longer counting our sins against us. Being reconciled to Him means simply receiving the right relationship with him which was offered to us through the person of Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 (New Living Translation)
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

These are basic, but big life questions that you are addressing right now. Even if it sounds wonky, I want you to know that I consider it a blessing to know you and am pleased to have the privilege of being the person who comes to mind when your thoughts turns to these matters. There is a lot more theology that goes along with what I’ve just shared with you, but I hope this is enough to help you for now.

God bless;

Kevin

Your Chance to Judge Me

2011-01-30T16:28:00.000-08:00

When I think of each of you, I thank my God. B, you have been with me since the early days of my calling and I hope to have you with me at the close of my ministry. You are one of the more thoughtful people I have known and I consider it to be a great privilege to have your respect as you do mine. We don’t see each other as much as I’d like any more, but I hold onto the hope that the promise of the kingdom is more than sentiment, but something that can be taken at face value.

L, what I admire about you is your compassion for those who need your difference and in this regard, Mr. Wright has brought the best out in you as he has encouraged you in your personal walk with Christ. Likewise, you have watched me from a short distance as I have went through some of the biggest changes in my life and I hope that we will still be encouraging each other as life’s curtain draws near its conclusion.

L - If The Bible is God’s word, as I take it to be, I don’t see anything which would indicate that He has changed His stand on the matter. They’re born that way? Sure. We’re all born as sinners. . Psalm 51:5, “For I was born a sinner – yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.“ I don’t believe that the Psalmist was the only one who was born a sinner. Personally I see no reason why anyone would be exempt. So why would God allow us to be born as sinners? I can’t answer that. Let me know if you find the answer. I don’t believe that God loves those who try to do good. I believe that no one does good, and God loves them all. Romans 3:9-18

You don’t have to see it ‘my way’ for me to treasure my relationship with you. Even if you aren’t completely with me on this, I hope that you can appreciate my heart. Both of you have asked me a similar question,

“Can I love, accept a person without judging them?”

By myself, I can’t. Jesus loved (and loves) sinners. In fact, I believe that He was and is the only one ever to do so in its purest sense.

It’s a funny thing about sinners. They actually sin. I know I sound silly, but I’m very serious. For us as human beings, we really have a difficult time loving people who do the things that we know to be wrong. We tend to respond to sin in other people’s lives in one of two ways, a) we condemn the individual or b) we condone the sin. Respectively in our own lives, we tend to either justify the sin or beat up on ourselves.

Follow your gut instinct with me if you will. Think of the question that both of you asked me and think of the dynamics at play within the question. If I call, ‘that thing’ to be a sin, can I love the person? In our hearts, it seems to follow that if we say that a person is sinning, that we are unable to love them. That’s why the way of Jesus is so counter cultural. He neither condones sin, nor condemns the person.

I’ll be honest, I don’t always do that very well. I tend to waffle between the two. Sometimes I laugh or smile at sin. (Literally) Sometimes I throw stones. If I had a preference between the two, I don’t know which it would be. The people who wear, “God hates homosexual” signs at the PRIDE parades are just plain jerks. I suppose the people who say there is nothing wrong with it are at least nice.

About Judging

We’re all familiar with the words where Jesus says in Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

The word judge literally means to pass sentence. Please consider the implications as they demonstrate themselves in real life. This weekend’s cover of The London Free Press carries the following headline, “The Verdicts – Guilty”. The first few words in the article share another part of the story as they read, “Tim Best’s fate now moves from the jury to the judge.”

There are two elements at work here which are distinctly separate, which somehow get melded together in our minds and they are the verdict and the sentence. The verdict has been reached by the jury, but he has not been judged yet. The judge has yet to pronounce sentence on Tim Best.

The verdict has to do with answering the question, “Did the person do that thing for which they have been accused?” Having been found guilty, the question that the judge needs to address is different; “What needs to be done about it?” The judgment or the sentence has to do with determining the penalty for the things that have been done.

There is a lot of judging that goes on, both from within and outside of the Christian community, and we are clearly told that it isn’t right. If you follow the news, it doesn’t take long before you uncover stories where people pass sentence. It’s not unusual to hear Christians say that homosexual’s go to hell. It’s not uncommon to hear of people who have been threatened, laughed at, beaten up or bullied. It’s not uncommon to see people who have been subjected to public ridicule. These are all different forms of passing sentence.

I encourage you to read through the passage of the woman brought to Jesus who was caught in adultery. The funny thing was that she was likely a heterosexual. I guess they sin too. He didn’t pat her on the back and say that it was ok, but He did chastise the people who wanted to throw the stones.

Christians aren’t the only people who judge where it isn’t their place. In fact, I’d accuse the London Free Press of subjecting Tim Best to public ridicule. Sure, the story needs to be covered. I get that. Do we need a picture of him on the front cover, standing next to his sobbing wife? Probably not.

There is a place for making moral judgment calls in our own lives as well as within the church regarding discipline. Don’t ask me to go there right now.

What sentence will be pronounced on Tim Best’s life? I don’t know. It’s not our job to know.

You Judge Me

You asked me whether or not I could love someone without judging them. I’ll let you in on my life and I’ll allow you to decide whether or not you think that I am able to do just that. You see, when I talk about these issues, they aren’t arbitrary situations. Just after writing my last post, a friend of mine gave me a call at work. Just so you know, he happens to be gay.

On more than one occasion, J has told me that he has some horrible sins in his past. I haven’t asked him what they were. I have not preached at him. I don’t know if he has ever had sex with another man or not. I don’t even need to know. All I know is that he is tortured in his own conscience. He often says things to me like this;

“I should be shot and pissed on.”
“The world would be a better place if I were dead.”
“I’ve done horrible things.”
“I should kill myself.”

Maybe you think I’ve got it all wrong, but for me, being Jesus’ light to Him means loving him regardless of his past, or even his present condition. When he calls me to talk, he isn’t looking for someone to tell him, “There’s nothing wrong with what you have done.” and the last thing that he needs is for me to say, “You’re right. You should be shot”.

I believe strongly that my place is to say, “Yeah. Sure you’ve done things that aren’t right. We all have. Welcome to humanity. No, the world won’t be better with you dead. No you shouldn’t kill yourself. Yes there is a purpose to your life as part of God’s family and I hope you can find it.”

J has a hard time coming to believe in a God who loves Him even though He has sinned. Don’ think less of him. How many people do you know who are able to love without condemning the person or condoning the sin? That kind of love is an alien love; one which is not common in the world in which we live.

When he called me last week, he told me that I was his, “Good Christian brother.” I responded by asking,

“So you believe that Jesus died for your sins?”

He answered saying, “Yeah. I believe that Jesus died for all of our sins.”

“No.”, I said. “Do you believe that His death on the cross paid the price for your personal sins?” (Whatever they may be)

After a brief pause he responded. “No. They’re too bad.” He still believes that he should be punished and can’t come to fathom the kind of love that would take the punishment on his behalf. The love of our Saviour is so amazing, it defies human logic.

I don’t know where J will spend eternity. That would be judging him and it’s not my job. The issue isn’t whether or not he is sleeping with other men. Turning straight won’t make him right with God either. The issue is whether or not he will be able to place his trust in Christ on this side of life. If you think I stink and you’re willing to walk with him, let me know. Maybe you can help him more than I can. Of course, he doesn’t trust many people, so I would have to ask his permission first.

Homosexuality and Me.

There is one other thing that you need to know, and besides my wife,
this will be news for most of the living world. Not only do you need to know that I love the homosexual people who God brings into my life, I’m not standing entirely outside of the practice myself.

***gasp****

When I was 11, I was staying at my cousin’s house overnight. Don’t ask me the grimy details. All I’ll say is that when you’re 11 years old, you don’t know how to handle those kinds of advances. That evening was probably the single most damaging event in my life. From then on I had struggled with whether or not I was gay. I remember being taught that it was genetic so I figured that maybe there was some medical test which could tell me whether or not I had the gene. Shortly thereafter, my cousin killed himself. It’s rather ironic don’t you think? The word, ‘gay’ used to mean happy. His death often causes me to question whether or not homosexual men really are that happy after all.

A year or two later, a friend of the family also tried to molest me. Fortunately, my sister was with me while he was trying to ‘play his game’, so together we just left the room. Again, don’t ask about the game. To each his own. Right? If it feels good do it. I guess that was the life philosophy of this guy as well as my cousin.

Do I have ‘the gay gene’? I don’t know. I’ve never been tested. I do have a lovely wife and four wonderful children. Maybe I’m over compensating.

The Judgment to Come

I’m not exactly sure how the judgment will unfold. I do however know the verdict which will be called over my life. I also know how I will plead.
“Kevin LeRoy Abell.

You have been accused of lying, gossiping and theft. You have been a fornicator at heart, a practising homosexual and a masturbator. How do you plead?”

“Guilty” (You’re just lucky I left out some of the ugly stuff.)

Before the sentence is proclaimed, I plan on asking for an Advocate. I’m told that I have One and that His name is Jesus. I don’t mind sharing my story with you, because I’ve been washed. I have received the love that refuses to either smile at my sin or condemn me.

So how about it? Do I sound like someone who can love and accept people without judging them? With Christ in me, I think I can love people who sin. Can you?

Is it a sin to be gay?

2011-01-26T18:40:00.000-08:00

Do these statements sound like they contradict each other?

1. It is not a sin to be a homosexual.

2. It is a sin for a man to have sexual intercourse with another man.

Explain....

I'm an Adult Now

2011-01-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

A lot of people that I love are well on their way into adult life. Many are getting married and having children. This song might not fit perfectly into this kind of a blog and it's written from a guy's perspective.

I like some of the realities at play in the song. Sooner or later, we all need to grow up. If you're an adult now, enjoy.

The Mystery of the Missing Kidney Stone

2011-01-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

As we walk through life, we see the kind of things that we want to see. Don’t we? I mean, we all have a look at the same evidence, but come to different conclusions, based on our own worldview. I don’t pretend to write without a bias, but I do hope that I am forthcoming about my bias. I have been persuaded to believe that there is a God who is living and active in the world today; the God who sent His son as the only means to being reconciled back to Him. That’s my bias and it should make it easy for you to discount my conclusions if you don’t agree with them.

My friend’s wife Tonya was scheduled for surgery this past Friday, Jan 21st. She had a kidney stone which was measured to be about 5 mm. I don’t know when she was diagnosed, but my wife and I have known about it for at least a month. When we first heard about it, the pain was intense enough that she had been taking Percocet in order to cope with the pain. My family and I have been praying for her pretty well every day. I’m sad to say, but my wife and children have been more faithful at this than I have been myself. My friend Dave and his wife Tonya have been praying diligently as well. (I haven’t asked, but I assume that they have prayed much more than we have.)

From our end, we have been praying specifically that Tonya wouldn’t become dependent on her pain killers. Percocet pills are highly addictive and I’ve known one individual who has been physically ruined because of her addiction. We have also been praying that the Lord would heal her. My wife met with Tonya briefly on Wednesday. She had told Barb that she was in some pain, but was able to tolerate it and hadn’t had to take the pills.

If you want or need more details, I’ll try and get them for you. What I do know is that on Friday, she was prepped and put under anesthetic. When she woke up, her caregiver told her that the stone wasn’t there anymore. I didn’t ask how they knew without cutting her open. I figure they did an ultra sound. She was told that she had likely passed the stone.

I don’t know the mechanics of the female anatomy, but when I ponder the possibility of passing a 5mm kidney stone, I almost pass out. In speaking to my wife, Tonya describes it this way – “There is no way that I could pass a 5 mm kidney stone without knowing it. God healed me. I can feel it.”

From my end of the story, I give God the glory. I do however often have a hard time being faithful in my prayers. I get discouraged sometimes when I consider some of the people who have died or others who continue to suffer. I have a friend whose son is sick and so many people keep praying, but the road is still tough.

I guess it’s like we’re living in this sin infested world and there is absolutely no way to live through life without being brought down by the curse of death. That is a reality which we cannot escape. He does however choose to demonstrate His power above the curse, sometimes by providing the strength amidst the adversity, while in others demonstrating his power over the adversity itself.

Of course, knowing my bias….you knew I would say something like that.

By the way, if you agree with the diagnosis of the doctor, try peeing out a small marble. Let me know how it feels. (You’re right. That was a bit much. But I had fun with it.)

The Next Two Thursdays..

2011-01-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

Well, technically speaking, I'm ready for my next two Thursdays. When I say, 'technically', I mean I've done all that I can personally do to prepare. I've read my passages, I've looked at my available study notes. I've considered how these chapters relate to the rest of scripture.
The rest is up to God. From here all I can do is to meditate, pray and hope that enough of the word has been or will be written on my heart.

Here are the links for both studies.

Revelation 11:19 --> 13:10

Revelation 13:11 --> 15:4

I suppose if I were one to write out the text of the message it would be more helpful wouldn't it? Are we still friends?

A Task For Each of Us.

2011-01-18T18:48:00.000-08:00

What is your life’s objective? Does it have anything to do with seeking after the Kingdom of God? On any given day, if you are to ask me, ‘Kevin, how can I pray for you?’, I’ll probably respond by saying that I need the Lord’s guidance. If any of you have walked closely with me for the past several years, is that not a fair statement?

You’ve likely heard me say on more than one occasion that not all believers are called to foreign missions work, street evangelism, teaching or any other area of spiritual gifting. What I have never addressed in my posts is this question, “What are all believers supposed to be doing?” If you were to ask that question and if I were to answer, I would say something such as;

All believers are called to obedience.

(Notice I didn't say 'believe'. I'm not talking about salvation here.)

I sometimes have a difficult time nailing down what obedience looks like. Being obedient to Christ tends to sound rather vague. There are many imitations. 1. We can use the scriptures as a sports rule book. We carry with us a mental list of the kinds of things that we need to abstain from. 2. Or, through our studies, we might also carry a mental list of the kinds of things that God’s people are supposed to do. 3. For the more cunning, you might even study the life of Christ, His work and His ministry and live your life playing a game of copy cat. My King James study notes say that Jesus was likely home schooled. I guess we all have to be homeschooled now. Sorry folks. King James’ study notes never lie. You’re right. Maybe Rome was more than happy to use Judean taxes towards public education for the Jews.

There are likely more ways to live out a counterfeit walk, but I hope that these three are enough for our time here together tonight. I would also like to add that it’s possible, perhaps even common to live out an authentic faith in Christ, yet live a form of obedience that I have just mentioned. If you were to label me, for much of my life with Jesus, I’d likely fall into the first. Just stay away from that demon liquor and all will be well with your soul.

True obedience is impossible to live out without possessing genuine faith. Let us face it. If you don’t really believe in Christ, how can you do what He says? Sure, you can stay away from beer, you can invite in the homeless, you can even minister to the outcast. (because that’s what Jesus did.) Is it possible to abstain from sin, stand for social justice and copy Jesus, all the while living out an empty walk? Yeah. It’s possible to live out that sort of life, all the while believing that Jesus is little more than a character in one of the world’s greatest story books.

In order to obey anyone, be it Jesus, your parents or your supervisor, the person that we are obedient to actually has to be alive. I hope that doesn’t blow you mind. If you are in Christ, I hope to remind you that we serve a God who is in fact alive and who is able to guide us as we seek after His kingdom. Do you believe that? Really? Would you like me to answer my own question? Sure.

Sometime I believe that I can trust God to articulate to me the things that He wants me to do. Sometimes I do not.

I hope you realize, I’m not speaking on the life issues that are clearly outlined in scripture. I’m talking about knowing and doing the things that Jesus wants us to do. Does Jesus want you to hand out scriptures at the fair? Or does he want you being an advocate for Compassion? Does He want you helping drug addicts? Does He want you in Africa? Do all of these things need to be done? Yes. Can you do all of those things effectively? No you can’t.

My Time With The Guys

2011-01-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I spent the afternoon preparing for my teaching time at men's group. If you're interested in taking a peek, here are the point form notes that I'll be speaking from. If you are a guy and you would like to come,I will be speaking for the last Thursday in January and the first Thursday in February. This should give you enough ammunition if you want to challenge me.

If this is a waste of your time, just let me know. I'll make sure that I don't post things like this in the future. God bless! Enjoy our Canadian winter!

Revelation 11:19  13:10

Revelation 11:19 – God’s Temple Opened
Perspective?

Revelation 12:1 – 6 The Woman, her ‘Child’ and the Dragon

Vs 1 – Woman – Israel
Sun, Moon – Genesis 37:9
12 Stars – Sons of Jacob, 12 Tribes
Not Mary – Salvation is from the Jews, John 4:22

Vs 3 Dragon – devil (slanderer) & Satan (adversary)
The vision in verse 4?
What did these events look like from our perspective?

Q – Why does life on earth look different when we’re looking through God’s vantage point?

Vs 5 The male Child – One who is to rule
Snatched away – the ascension

Q - What importance would this passage have in John’s day? Our day? For futurists?

Revelation 12:7-17 Implications of the Man Child

Q – What did Christ’s birth and ascension accomplish?
Satan and angels defeated
No longer any place for the devil and his followers in heaven
The promise of Genesis 3:15 fulfilled

Vs 12 – Life after Satan’s defeat
John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11 prince of this world

Why isn’t it a compliment to be called ‘worldly’?

The Context for life on earth in the AD
Satan’s last stand
Entrenched on this ‘tiny dot’ (illustrate?)
Spirit of air? Ephesians 2:2
War with Woman & the rest of her offspring
Holocaust, Rome, persecution today?

Revelation 13:1-10 The Beast of the Sea
The powers that be?

Characteristics of ‘The Beast’
Authority vs 1
Blasphemous vs 1,5,6
Qualities of a bear, lion, leopard vs 2
Receives power and throne from Satan vs 2
Mortally wounded, yet lives vs 3
Wages war against the saints vs 7
Worshipped by the people of the ‘world’ vs 8

Q – What would people in John’s day call the beast?

Can ideology be a beast?

What do you think of the following?

“Only capitalism can save us.”
“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”
Is Communism dead? Fascism?

Q - How is the cause of Christ really doing under Western Democracy?

One world government?

Q-What if Capitalism, Fascism, Democracy, Communism and Tribalism are all different forms of the same beast? (different forms of the world system)

Are any of them really compatible with Christ?

Vs. 9 – If anyone has an ear....

Late High School Start Urged (TVDSB)

2011-01-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

Seeing as I don’t have my children in the public school system, I really shouldn’t even be writing about what I read in the London Free Press this week. Apparently the Thames Valley District School board is considering delaying start times for high school aged children. Teenagers are tired in the mornings and it’s difficult to get them up in time for school.

I was very glad to see that the article addressed people who might label teenagers as being lazy. They might have been thinking of me. Again, not that it’s my concern as a parent. I really don’t care if other people have a hard time getting up their teenager for school. I’m not sure if this is a news flash, but getting up for school never has been easy. I slept through many of my own high school classes. (And several university classes as well.)

I don’t know about you, but as I walk through life, I have found that many of the things that I need to do are difficult. Getting up in the morning is still difficult for me. In fact, I slept in just this morning. There are many tasks in the workplace which aren’t all that glorious; tasks such as washing the toilet bowl and cleaning the gutter. They are tasks which nobody likes to do, but they need to be done.

Perhaps it is the trade that I work in, but we find very few individuals who are willing to do these ‘less worthy’ tasks. I believe that high school students would get better grades if they could sleep in longer. I don’t doubt that. What lessons are we are handing down with respect to work ethic? I’m not saying that my generation has an outstanding work ethic either. This is not a, 'kids these days' rant. I’m just saying, that if getting up when you are tired is too much of a burden, how will you handle the pressures of life in the real world? What if you end up having to do shift work someday? Are you going to tell Toyota to delay your start time? For those of you are living in the work force, did life get easier after you left high school?

I don’t care when other people’s children start school, but if they don’t have the internal resolve to get up for 8:00am classes, please make sure that kind of information is clearly placed on the individual’s resume.

What I Really Think of Non-Christians...

2011-01-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

I don’t pretend to know a whole lot about evangelism. Having gone to public school, you would think that I would be more engaging. Wouldn’t you? There are however some things that I do know, and one such truth was brought to mind this evening in my reading.

“…if someone asks you about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way.” 1Peter 3:15-16 (NLT)

I have never been one to say that all believers have to be on the streets witnessing for Jesus. Some do. I am adamant however that each of us needs to be honest about our relationship with Him. If we have received in full measure the very promises of God, unless we live life as a hermit, there will be times in life where people will ask about what we think and what we believe.

If you aren’t a believer and you are reading this, I want you to know that I would like very much to be able to call you my brother or sister in Christ. If there was a formula to follow, I wish I knew what it was. In all honesty, if there was a way to manipulate or trick you into believing in Jesus, I’d probably try it, although it doesn’t quite work that way. I hope you can forgive me this sin.

It isn’t that I want to ruin your fun. Moreover, I really believe that I have received eternal life through what Jesus has done for me on the cross. That is my hope. Label me a quack if it makes you feel better, but I believe it through and through and I would like the same for you. If that’s offensive, then think of the alternative. You wouldn’t much like it if I wanted you to suffer and die now would you?

Personally, I believe that the best witness for Christ is a faith that is lived openly and honestly before the lives that it touches. Maintaining a decent witness has to do with actually living the life to which we have been called . Few things, if any, ruin our witness as much as when we fall into blatant sin.

I have a friend who posts a lot of verses on his Facebook page. Does that count? I know someone else who likes to post links to John MacArthur. Does that count? How about writing a blog? Does that count? What about my friend who will sometimes give a person on the street some food along with a gospel tract? Does that count? What about offering to pray for a coworker, whether they believe or not? What about inviting someone to church?

I hope that there is at least one non-Christian reading this so that you can either correct or validate what I’m saying. Non-believers aren’t necessarily looking for us to have a chili cook-off, community barbeque, a movie night, or a pizza party. They would however like it if you would care enough to ask about their life, rejoice at their successes and walk with them through life’s valleys. Perhaps, if we can accomplish at least these simple tasks, we’ll be given the opportunity to share the hope that we have found in Jesus.

PS - Forwarding a link to Blue Collar Christianity is always an effective outreach tool. Works every time. ;-)

Time For Change

2011-01-11T17:47:00.000-08:00

Some people advocate change, for change’s sake.

Other’s resist change because it is different.

There are a few who realize that change in and of itself is neither good nor bad, but depending on the type of change will prove itself to be one or the other.

If however, you can convince others that you are the change that they need, you have won them, if only for a moment.

Stuck Where I Belong

2011-01-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

I always enjoy finding the exceptions to the norm. In November, I wrote a post on work life where I spoke on how most of the time, when people hate their jobs, their employers aren’t all that pleased with them either. I had the amazing privilege of speaking with a man who clearly does NOT fit into that generalization.

His name is Ricky Bobby. Bobby’s parents grew up in Northern Ireland and moved to Canada. Ricky went to university and became a shoe salesman at one of North America’s largest shoe retailers. Just so you know. Ricky doesn’t like his job. He especially dislikes his job around Christmas time as the traffic in the store and the demands of his customers can take their toll, so much so in fact, that this past Christmas, one of his coworkers broke down in tears while on the job. No joke.

Ricky Bobby has often tried to find a way out. He has pondered the possibility of pursuing a teaching career, paid Christian ministry, or opening his own shoe store, but every door that he explores seems to be shut. What do you do when you find yourself in such a place? You’re ‘stuck’ in a job that doesn’t seem to have an outlet for ‘your’ abilities or talents. Do you lament your life? Do you chalk it up to the poor choices that you made earlier in life? Do you assume that a post secondary education would have afforded you a different life?

This past year, Ricky received a call from head office.

“Hello Ricky. This is Mr. Bigwig from headquarters.”

“Gee Mr. Big Wig. What would prompt you to call me on this fine morning?”

“Ricky, I’m calling you to tell you that you are among the ten most valued shoe salespeople in our company, nationwide. We’d like to ask you some questions about how you see yourself in the profession so that we can produce some training materials for the other slacker shoe salespeople in the company.”

Ricky’s performance isn’t based strictly on sales. His value has been appraised on many facets of his work; from customer satisfaction to his participation as part of the team. You might know a thousand Ricky Bobby’s – people who can’t stand their job, yet who manage to live out an exemplary work ethic. As for me, I only know one such individual. That would be Ricky.

Ricky is a very humble individual and he likely won’t tell you his story. He may not have told me, had he not have read my post. If you talk to Ricky, and if he tells you his story, he might share something like this, “Even though I don’t like my job, I know that it’s where God wants me for the moment. I have determined to press through and find contentment in that.”

1. Ephesians 6:5
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
Ephesians 6:4-6 (in Context) Ephesians 6 (Whole Chapter)

2. Colossians 3:22
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

The word slavery leaves a very bad aftertaste when it comes from our mouth, as it should. In spite of this, Paul shares similar words for both the believers in Colosse and in Ephesus. Slaves are told to obey their masters. Do you suppose that slaves enjoy obeying their masters? Did they enjoy it in Paul’s time? How many of you like doing what you are told to do?

While few, if any, who read this have been literally purchased as a slave, our work lives aren’t always so different. Employees are slaves to their employers. Business owners are slaves to the realities of the market place. Sales professionals are slaves to their customers. Many of us at one time or another find ourselves thinking, ‘There should be more to life. I don’t find my work fulfilling. I don’t think that I can get out of this path that I’m on. If I found a career that fit my talents, THEN I would be content.’

Well, maybe you don’t. I do. I spend a great deal of my time looking for the open door to some different line of work. It’s not that I hate my work. Please Mr. Mufflerman – don’t get rid of me. If you want my opinion on the matter, (and if you are reading this, I suppose you value it, at least a little bit.) as believers, the questions we are meant to ask are not, ‘Do I like my job? Does this work make the best use of my gifts?’, but more like this –

“Is this where God wants me to be?”

As I said, that’s where I stand. Do what you want with the question. Discontent is not always an indication that God has something else in store for us, although at times, it is. Likewise, our contentment doesn’t always indicate that we are where He wants us, be it at work or in any other area of our lives.

This past week, God has blessed me and shown me that, at least for this moment, I am where He wants me. I had the pleasure of meeting up with an old schoolmate from East Elgin Secondary School, who also went to university with me. He mentioned how he had watched me on television, which helped me to discover that he had become a believer since high school. I was so encouraged to meet up with him and I hope that he was encouraged by his time with me. I know that not all such encounters indicate our standing before The Father, but from that brief meeting, I just have such a peace about my place for the time being.

At the end of the day, we need to do something in order to buy groceries, put a roof over our head, heat the place and pay for our cell phone contract. You caught me. The cell phone isn’t always a necessity. Neither is my NES. Whatever profession we have found which accomplishes those ends, I pray that we are able to live out our faith in a way which brings glory to God.

I’ll leave you with these comforting words….

God used to kill His people when they complained about the way He chose to provide for them. So suck it up princess.

Opinion Poll

2011-01-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

How many Christians do you know who you would describe as being, “peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others?” James 3:17

The Pagan Thinking Christian

2011-01-05T18:07:00.000-08:00

I don’t know how much you are interested in our decision to purchase another vehicle or to produce solar electricity. My latest OPA application didn’t go through again. I’m positive that I submitted it properly. At the moment, I don’t feel that it’s worth the effort. So much for earning my green arm patch. And the truck – if we get one, it likely won’t be brand new. It’s a longish story, and I don’t think it’s important enough to tell.

Today however, I was asked a question which has bigger implications,

“Kevin, do you think that you will be publishing your second manuscript?”

My first response was, “Yes. I intend to publish it, but haven’t settled on a publisher just yet.” After giving that response, I’ve seriously been questioning the whole venture. I won’t bore you with the areas of the work which are deficient in my opinion. I just don’t have peace about the matter, and neither can I tell you what exactly would give me that assurance.

Sometimes I question what separates me from being a literal pagan. When making my decisions, I spend much of my time looking for ‘signs’. When the venture is difficult I’ll wonder, ‘Maybe this is God saying no.’ As one reader commented on my last post, sometimes difficulties are merely obstacles which test our resolve. I rarely know the difference.

Looking for signs doesn’t resemble the life of simple faith to which we are called in Christ. We’re called to seek His will in all honesty and entrust the matter into His care. Rather than seeking and trusting, I find myself looking to see what kind of hand I am dealt. I might as well buy a set of Tarot cards, because that is in fact the very manner of thinking that I default to.

Rather than looking for ‘signs’, I am intentionally doing two other things at the moment. I’m going to pray and I’m going to wait. I don’t know how long I will do these two things. That’s why I’m doing them to begin with.

Marginal Material

2011-01-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

There seem to be certain areas of our lives that just don’t fit into our faith. Oh. I’m not blaming anyone. In fact, part of the problem lies within my own thinking. To be a little more specific, there are certain areas of my life that don’t have the feel of something that I should include here in this Christian-blog-space.

There are two such life issues that currently remain at the forefront of my thought life which fall into such a category. The first of which is our family vehicle. The second issue has to do with our farm business.

The Truck

With regards to our family vehicle, our truck is getting on in years and in mileage. We’ve never been stranded in it yet, but when the alternator died last month, Barb barely made it back from Rebecca’s appointment at the orthodontist. We weren’t inconvenienced all that badly, but I’m beginning to lose confidence in the vehicle.

If you want to throw some doctrine at me. I’m ready. Go ahead. It should sound something like this...

We’re supposed to place our trust in God, not in our vehicle. Some trust in trucks (chariots) – we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

As we consider purchasing something else, buying a brand new vehicle doesn’t seem to have the ‘Jesus feel’ to it, even if it really is on sale. What do you think? Are Christians allowed to buy new vehicles? Isn’t there a law somewhere that says we should drive a beater and join an auto club?

I really do believe that God is concerned with every aspect of our lives, even the vehicles that we purchase and maintain. It would just be so much simpler if He would send an e-mail with a link to Autotrader’s website saying, “Hello Kevin. This is God. This is the vehicle I want you to buy.”

The Farm

Barb and I have been mulling over the possibility of putting up a set of solar panels on our farm. I’m thinking that if I do, I will have earned my environmentalist stripes. Want my serious personal opinion on that? Honestly. No attitude. I don’t think that environmentalism has much to do with being a responsible steward of the earth. I think that it has more to do with waving a banner.

We have looked into different equipment and financing options. We have even applied for a contract with the Ontario Power Authority. All along we’ve wondered whether or not God wants us to pursue the venture.

A funny thing happened today. I went online to check out the progress of my application, and my password was no longer working. When I finally managed to get a new password for the site, I was told that I had not completed the application. So I just finished the application AGAIN, about 20 minutes ago.

Since I’m running into these peculiar obstacles, does that mean that God doesn’t want it? That is the litmus test for life is it not? If it is difficult, then give up.

For some reason, when people used to come to me asking about how to find direction from God, I felt like I had all of the answers for them. Why is it then, that when it’s my turn to know which way to go that it seems so cloudy?

These aren’t big life problems, but they are decisions which need to be made nonetheless. They don’t have that Jesus flavour to them, but I’m certain that He does care about issues, even such as these. May His will be done in my life.

....But please dear Jesus, don’t make me drive a Dodge.

What do you know for sure?

2011-01-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

I’ve been sitting here in front of my laptop for what seems like half an hour. It isn’t like you need to know that piece of information. I’m just stalling. I’m waiting for that perfect word to come to me; that word which will satisfy your hungry mind and prompt you to respond saying,

‘Thanks Kev! That’s exactly what I needed to hear.’
Or –
‘Well Said Kevin. Everyone needs to read this post’
Or-
“What insight. I’ve never thought of that.”
Or –
“What a creative way to express yourself!”

I suppose the reason why I have no idea of where to begin, is that there is just so much set before me.

I think of my past.

In particular, there is a big difference between the kind of Christian that I am today compared to the kind of person I was when I first believed. I prefer to think that the difference lies in a certain maturity that has come with time, but I can’t say for sure. Sometimes I dearly miss the infant stages of my walk with Christ. I miss the sheer innocence of those days. For some strange reason, I thought myself to be the answer man. I took pleasure in thinking that I could wade through any topic, find the answers and structure a lesson plan which clearly outlined the limits to what we could and could not do.

Now, in my current state, I am becoming more and more aware of how much I don’t know. In some ways, I miss being the answer man. In fact, in some ways I wonder if I know enough anymore to be able to speak or write intelligently on any matter at all.

I think of you.

I’ve been thinking of several of you. I think on some of your comments here in blog space and what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I think of Lesley’s words and how Christ spent more time talking about being a neighbour than he did on being an evangelist. I think of Margaret and how she has brought certain people to mind. I think on Chuck’s words and the ways in which I have attempted to live out my faith in anonymity.

I think of friends. I think of the ways in which God has demonstrated His goodness towards the people in my life. Some He has blessed with good health. For others, He has chosen to bless them by being their strength in the midst of adversity. I think of the man who was told that his father only had hours to live. He’s alive. I think of several people who have had their struggles with cancer and other health problems. I think of some of the hardships that you have faced.

I think of the future.

What lies ahead for the next year? I’m often led to believe that The Christian Dream has been mingled with the American Dream. If we’re faithful in our calling, then the future should carry with it a successful book or a growing church. What does a ‘successful ministry’ look like to you in your setting? Would your church pay off the building fund? Would you find a commercial publisher? Would your blog traffic increase?

In my setting, I often ponder the possibility of entering into career ministry and wonder whether or not this is the year. I’ve wondered that for the past 10 years or more. For the moment, I remain at The Mufflerman and have found it conducive for accomplishing the tasks prepared for me by my Lord Jesus Christ. Being a tent maker isn’t so bad.

What I know for sure.

Of all of the things that I am unsure about, there is one that I continue to stand on.

2 Timothy 1:12
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

I know Who I believe in. I know that for sure. I have also been persuaded that He is able to keep me in His care. That is what grounds me both in days of joy and in days of great trial.

What is your anchor? What do you know for sure? Where do you turn when the floor falls out from under you?

No matter what this year has in store for you, whether good or bad, I hope your anchor holds. Some people choose an anchor which brings them to ruin. As for me, I choose Christ. He has held me in His care thus far. I assume He will continue to do so.

And you call yourself a Christian....

2010-12-29T19:11:00.000-08:00

What are your greatest grievances against the church? I mean, when you think of the ways that believers fall short of their calling, which shortcomings come to mind?

Do they sin too much? Do they love this world too much? Do they like sports, money or entertainment more than they should? Are they unfaithful in their prayer lives? That’s a big complaint that I hear in church circles. At least once a year, someone will take the stage and say, “We need to pray more people!” Does this phrase sound familiar? “Christians need to get out of the pews and get busy about the great commission.” Does the church serve its community or the world as well as you think it should? Are we evangelical enough? Are we combating aids, child poverty, spousal abuse or drug abuse like we should?

As much emphasis as we place in out Christian community on The Word, prayer, worship, outreach and evangelism, I often question how important these really are. I have a test for you. It’s a very simple test. Complete the following sentence.

Anyone who doesn’t __________ enough, does not deserve to call himself a Christian.
1) Pray
2) Witness
3) Read the Bible
4) Help those in need

What do you think? Some of you already know that I’m being intentionally tricky. There are only a few things that I have found which call for us to hand in our Christian badge. We can’t drink blood. We can’t eat food that we know has been offered to other gods. We can’t continue to intentionally live in sexual immorality and we can’t eat strangulated animals. I would also add murder. If you murder people on an ongoing basis and you aren’t willing to stop, I’m really not comfortable sitting with you on Sunday mornings.

There is at least one other area, that when we fall short, calls our faith into question.

1 Timothy 5:8 (New Living Translation)
8 But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.

I always encourage you to read more than just the tidbits that I post here. In this passage, Paul is speaking to Timothy, telling him that widows should be cared for by their children or grandchildren if they have any. Paul has some serious words, basically saying, “If anyone refuses to provide for their own family, they don’t deserve to call themselves a Christian.”

I’m nearing the end of my Bible again. I’ve been through it a few times, at least four, and I don’t recall such words for any other area of our walk.

Does it happen? Are there people who fail to look after their own ailing parents? Are there parents who seem to find money to support their own personal habit, but don’t have enough to pay the rent or buy baby formula? I’ve seen it in the world. I hope it doesn’t happen in our homes. Is it more common in homes where mom and dad have split up? I have someone in mind at the moment and I don’t think he read this. Apparently, dad always had money to spend on his snowmobile, but never had enough to help support his children. I’ve heard of a mom who spent her son’s university tuition on her own entertainment. Are there children who would let their parents starve? Oh I hope not.

I’m not without sin myself, so I won’t call down fire on anyone. It isn’t like this is a new law, but the principle at work here has little to do with the law, but more of love. When we can’t even care for the people in our immediate family, it isn’t that we have broken a law, but rather, we have denied the faith. Our actions have demonstrated that we really don’t believe in or have any intention of following Jesus.

I’ve never asked you to be evangelists, prayer warriors or Bible scholars. I hope that I do call you consistently to be the dad, the mom, the son or the daughter that you need to be.

My kids are fed and my wife has enough clothing to keep her warm, but I can be very selfish at times. My parents are able to look after themselves at the moment. I just pray that if the day ever comes when I need to be more for the people in my household that I’ll be man enough.

If you are part of my family, I want to go on record by saying that you have been everything to me that I have expected you to be. You have not let me down. So if you lie awake at nights because you don’t feel like you visit often enough, I hope I have set your conscience at ease. If I have failed you, you have to let me know, because I really don’t have a clue.

Odd

2010-12-28T19:25:00.000-08:00

I often have a difficult time in putting a name to some of the benefits of being a believer. I mean, it’s not like our troubles go away. We still get sick. We still get cancer. We still eventually die from something. We still have bills to pay. The chances are pretty good that I’ll forget this a year from now, but this evening I have been reminded of one of the greatest privileges of having come to Christ.

“Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God.” Hebrews 9:14

When I recall the days of my life before Jesus, there was a strange paradox at work. On one hand, if you were to ask me whether or not I considered myself to be a good person, I would answer in all honesty that I thought I was indeed a good person. The paradox was this – Even though I considered myself to be better than the bulk of mankind, there were so many things that weighed down my conscience. They were things, thoughts, and actions that I was ashamed of.

I now live out a different paradox in Christ. Now that I have acknowledged that I’m a sinner, and received the pardon offered to me by the blood of Christ, my conscience has been cleared. How weird is that? Doesn’t that sound backwards?

Why would a person who thinks they are a good person have a defiled conscience, while the one who calls his sin as sin lives a life of liberation? Is that the way it always is? If you remember your life before Christ, has your experience been similar? If you currently walk without Christ, are there things in your past that crop up to plague you from time to time?

It isn’t that I'm without regrets. I have a few. What has changed is this – the shame is gone. It has been revealed, it has been labeled as vile and nailed to the only place that has the power to cleanse it; the cross of Christ.

Once Saved Always Saved.

2010-12-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

I spend very little time trying to sort out theology. I often wonder if this is an area where many believers find that I just don’t ‘do it for them’. Not that I care. Well, I care a little. There are many issues of theology where I don’t even pretend to have found the answer.

The question in the forefront of my mind this afternoon is one of those unsettled matters of doctrine. What do you think about the following phrase;

‘Once you are saved, you are always saved.’

I don’t know about you, but I find that the Bible doesn’t always speak in the same terms that we do. For example, you don’t come across the word, ‘missionary’ very often in the Scriptural text do you? The only place I've seen the word is in the man made headings. We think of church in different terms than the way in which it is spoken of in the Bible. Neither will you read a verse which says, ‘Once you are saved, you can’t lose your salvation’.

As believing humans, there is this tendency to divide ourselves into camps over issues that are not clearly outlined in The Word. We’ll gather proof texts in order to defend our case, intentionally neglecting anything that seems to speak to the contrary of our stand.

I’m currently a part of a body of believers who have the tradition of holding to the doctrine which says that once you are saved, you can’t lose your salvation. Many great believing thinkers take this stand, and I’ve heard some really great teachings from some of them. I just don’t think that The Bible is that clear on the issue.

I am reading through Hebrews at the moment and this afternoon I have revisited Hebrews 6:4-6.

4 For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—6 and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

We’re told that when a person has been enlightened and shared in the Holy Spirit, if they turn away from God, that it’s impossible to bring them back to repentance again. Depending on your stand, you might point out that this passage isn’t referring to people who have really been saved in the first place; that these weren’t people who had received the Spirit, but who had merely tasted Him.

You might be right. I have a question for you. How do you know the difference between having a taste of His Spirit, verses having received Him? This passage doesn’t speak in our terms does it? It doesn’t say if these people were ‘saved’ in the first place. How do you measure whether or not a person has turned away from God? Is it the same as giving up on church? Did the believers in the New Testament ever go to church in the way that we go to church?

I had a friend tell me a few months ago that he wasn’t sure whether or not he believed any more. So I asked him the question, “Are you saying that you used to believe, but now you really don’t believe?” He answered by saying, “I’m not sure whether or not I ever really did believe in the first place.” That makes it simple right? Perhaps he never really believed in the first place so he was never saved to begin with. All we need to do is figure out who really is saved so that we can fill out their separation papers beforehand. So if this guy was never saved, does this passage in Hebrews even refer to him? If he was never saved to begin with, then why can’t he be brought to Jesus for the first time? Do you ever wonder if perhaps you are losing your faith?

If you like definitive answers to questions such as these, I’m not the one to give them to you. We do know that some people are described as having their faith shipwrecked, and Paul refers specifically to two such individuals in 1Timothy 1:19-20. How can you sink a ship that doesn’t exist? If they didn’t really believe in the first place, what kind of faith did they have? If they really did believe, then how could it be dashed on the rocks? Why doesn’t Paul tell us whether these two individuals really were or were not saved to begin with? That kind of commentary might be helpful, but how could he make that kind of assertion? Is Paul God? Does he know for sure who is and who is not saved? How many of us have the kind of insight into the lives of those around us? Do you know who is and who is not saved in order to make those kinds of solid declarations?

I do know a few things. I know that we can be assured of our own salvation. I do know that, whatever it means to have my faith, ‘shipwrecked’, I don’t want that happening to me. I also know that my salvation isn’t like my wallet or anything else that can be misplaced. I know that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. I also know that if there is a weak partner in the relationship, it’s us. I know that we can count on God to hold up His end of the relationship, even when we fail. I know that there is a difference between stumbling versus walking away from the faith – even though I can’t always tell where to find the line between them. Our inheritance as His children isn’t like an investment that can go sour, a car that will rust, an opinion that can be changed or a shirt that can get dirty. (1Peter 1:40)

As far as church circles go, I believe that people should be allowed to walk away. It’s not like we should just let people go without caring enough to ask why, but if that’s what they really want, I don’t think that they should be bullied or pressured. I talked to a man a month ago who said that when he grew up to be a teenager, he didn’t want to go to church anymore. His father threatened to beat him within an inch of his life if he refused to go. That’s just completely wrong.

In spite of the fact that I don’t have all of the answers, I take great comfort in the fact that I can completely rely on God to do what He has promised for those who continue to trust in Him. “...we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” (Hebrews 6:18-19) Our trust is misplaced if it lies merely in the hands of doctrine, teaching or theology. Our trust rests completely on the finished work of Jesus on the cross at Calvary. I hope that you have found your refuge in Him, and that you remain in His loving care. I hope that you continue to trust Him.

What I Want for Christmas.

2010-12-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

Just in case you haven’t purchased my Christmas present yet, I thought I’d give you an idea as you head out for these last two precious days of shopping.

I have a friend whose son Jesse has Burkitt's Leukemia. My friend's name is Pete and I believe that he only gets a few days off of work for Christmas, which makes these few days all the more precious. At the moment, Jesse is in the hospital with a fever. I’m not here to play on your heart’s strings, but I would like very much if this young man could be well enough to spend Christmas at home with his family. Mom and dad have both been sick and it looks like the rest of their kids are taking ill as well. Please pray that each of them will be well enough to enjoy this time together.

They are a family who love the Lord and who continue to praise Him no matter what hand they are dealt in life.

Please pray. Don't worry about getting me anything else. I'm sure my wife has that well in hand.

My Goal

2010-12-21T19:36:00.001-08:00

I’ve just finished the first round of editing my second book. I often wonder how this sort of thing works for real authors. When they finish a book, do they have a sense of accomplishment? Do they tend to have any kind of assurance that the piece they have written will actually help anyone? When they pen their final words, do they look at their creation and say, “Wow. I can’t believe how profound my words are. Some of these statements are bound to end up on Facebook Status updates all over the world!”?

Whenever I write anything, I ask myself these questions;

“Why do I bother?”

“Does this actually help anyone?”

“Aren’t there people out there who have spoken much more eloquently on the topic? And wouldn’t my time be better spent finding out who that is and directing others towards their work?”

“Will it offend anyone unnecessarily?” (In my opinion, there is such a thing as necessary offense.)

There are many elements to my writings which I know are deficient. I know that I’m not well studied. This is one of the reasons why I consistently ask why I should bother. I do read the Bible, if that counts for anything.

I never planned on living the kind of faith that I have. In fact, I have walked through most of my life without a plan at all. I have resolved to do one thing – I live my days in the hopes that I will be used of God to point others towards Christ. I long to hear only one thing from my Father when I come before the throne; “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Other than that, in earthly terms I really haven’t had any tangible goals. I’m not trying to say that this has been a matter of faith. Some believers really are goal focused individuals and God may even use such people more effectively than He intends for me. There is however one thing that I can point to as being a specific measureable goal as I live out my calling. It might sound silly to you.

Years ago, when I began writing e-mails to the youth in our church, I had wanted to have one person reading my letters for every year of my life. In other words, when I was thirty, my goal was to have thirty people who wanted to receive my e-mails. Now that I write in blog form, I hope that when I’m 40, that there will be forty people who enjoy hearing my thoughts.

Does that sound odd? Does it sound small? As much as I enjoy speaking publicly, and as much as I enjoyed that one time on TV, I have never wanted my ministry grow beyond a place where I am able to connect with those who take the time to hear my thoughts. It’s the same reason why I don’t place much value in what John MacArthur, Charles Stanley or Mark Driscoll have to say. I do however place a great deal of value in what Michael Krahn, Bill Coleman and Arthur Cairncross have to say. I value their input into my life, because when I need them, they are the ones who care. They are the ones who pray. Our Christian celebrities really don’t know whether I live or die.

Thank you for walking with me. I hope that you have a happy Christmas. I look forward to seeing many of you within the next few weeks. For the few of you who live outside of Canada, I pray that the comfort of the Holy Spirit rests with you as He does with all who belong to Him.

God Bless;
Kevin

You Didn't Have To Thank Me

2010-12-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

This morning I was talking with a good friend of mine. We were talking about how frustrating it can be sometimes when you reach out to someone, but the sentiments aren’t reciprocated. Have you ever called someone who failed to call you back? Have you ever invited someone over to dinner, but they never seemed to value you enough to invite you over to their home?

Most of the time, when we have given of ourselves and get very little in return, it’s in our instinct to carry feelings of frustration, and even resentment. As I write those words, I’m thinking of someone I know who I have heard say the following on more than one occasion.

“I feel like I just give and give and I never get anything back. Why do I bother? I think I’ll just live the rest of my life looking after my own interests.”

To be honest, I feel that way myself sometimes. Sometimes when I give a gift, I say that I don’t want anything in return, but something inside of me is hoping that I’ll get something back. I don’t know what it’s like in your life. The scenario might play itself out in your family life. You’ve reached out to your sibling, son or parent, but they don’t even return your calls or even want to come to your home. The only reason they visit you at Christmas is some obscure expression of guilt or obligation. How do you handle that?

Luke 14:12-14 (New Living Translation)
12 Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

The life that Jesus calls us to is a life that thinks and acts radically different than the way in which we have been programmed. He tells us, that if someone invites us back, that in a way, we’re actually worse off than if the favour had been reciprocated. We’re told that we’re better off to demonstrate kindness to people who won’t pay us back. He says it will be better for us, because God will reward us at the time of the resurrection.

He specifically tells us to look beyond our friends, brothers, relatives and neighbours and to put our energy into people who are unable to repay our kindness. I’m not quite there yet, but I have begun to be at peace when my kindness isn’t returned.

This past week I helped a friend of mine and they gave me a gift card in appreciation. I’m very thankful for the giftcard, but God says that I have already received my reward. I’m not sure how I feel about that.